Foundation Briefs Advanced Level Sept/Oct 2013 Brief
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| Sept/Oct 2013 Topic Analysis Two foundationbriefs.com Page 18 of 104 and defend your definition of compulsory voting. It will be highly advantageous to highlight that current conceptions of compulsory voting allow citizens to not cast a vote they only need to show up at the polls. The negative will find friends in those who value liberty. The negative should argue that compulsory voting is harmful state paternalism—telling citizens what is best for them. Citizens should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they will participate in democracy in that specific way. In fact, citizens may feel that not voting is an important element of democratic participation. Being forced to vote in an election may legitimize a government or electoral system with which a citizen believes to be corrupt or immoral. Abstention is a vital act. The modern conception of liberty is usually that, in a just society, people should be left to act as they wish in private. Forcing people to the polls is a violation of this form of liberty. While the affirmative may try to argue that compulsory voting would create a more representative democracy, by bringing the socioeconomically disadvantaged—those who historically have low participation—to the polls, the system created might just reinforce the problem. In the United States, without improving voter registration or the ease of voting, these citizens might still have a hard time voting and now just get punished for it. That would further divide society. Good luck. |