Contention Three Alternative methods of increasing voter turnout exist. Anthony Morse of Forbes Magazine explains several untried methods of increasing voter participation. First, states in the USA. that allow same day registration at elections have seen a 3 to 12 percent increase in voter turnout. Morse also suggests turning every Election Day into a federal holiday to allow citizens the time to vote. Other suggestions include fixing the flaws in the gerrymandering system to make all races competitive and encourage voter participation and even making poll parties more fun by supplying food to voters. Clearly, there are many methods of increasing voter turnout today that have not yet been tried. Turning to compulsory voting before examining these options is foolish and ineffective. The only just exercises of democratic power are those that prevent harm to citizens. Making voting compulsory fails this test because it will cause probable harm to citizens by bringing uninformed uninterested citizens into the voting populace. Thus, this resolution falls according to my core value.
Conclusion Compulsory voting defies the values of a democratic system. It takes away the liberty of choosing to vote and replaces it with a government-sanctioned chore. Nations that have implemented such a system have seen a huge
increase in ignorant voters, who tend to vote against their own interests. Instead governments must pursue less extreme ways of increasing turnout to uphold John Stuart Mill’s utilitarian liberty principle.
