Sept/Oct 2013 Table of Contents foundationbriefs.com Page 3 of 104 Voluntary voting is less representative of the median voter JMR ............................................................ Neg Evidence ........................................................................................................................................................ Infringement on Personal Liberty ..................................................................................................................... Overview of compulsory voting as an infringement of liberty. RMF ...................................................... Mandatory Attendance at polls is still Mandatory Voting AMS .............................................................. A forced vote can contradict notions of self-interest and personal liberty, DAT 9/9 pm ................ Punishment is Undemocratic AMS ........................................................................................................... Possibility of Jail Time for Non-Voters is Undemocratic, JMR ............................................................... Abstention a crucial act in democracy .............................................................................................................. Compulsory voting forces citizens into an unfair process which is potentially undemocratic, DAT ...... Abstention underlines the power of the individual over government. RMF ............................................ Abstention is a Valuable and Powerful Political Tool , JMR ................................................................... Voting not a duty .............................................................................................................................................. The value of voting can be reasonably contested. RMF ........................................................................... Living in a liberal democracy allows citizens to choose to avoid politics JMR ....................................... Voting is expressive, not decisive therefore not a duty ............................................................................... The chance that a cast vote decides the election result is effectively zero. RMF ..................................... Voting is an expressive act, showing support fora candidate or issue. RMF .......................................... Democracy is Competitive—No Duty to Vote ............................................................................................. Costs of Mandatory Voting ............................................................................................................................... Mandatory voting artificially imposes disproportional costs, DAT ......................................................... Costs are not Trivial AMS..................................................................................................................... Voting against own interests/ideology .............................................................................................................. Uneducated voters who are forced to vote end up voting against own interests. RMF ............................ People cannot be expected to vote in an objective or well-informed manner, DATA dearth of informed voters turns elections into exercises of random probability, DAT ........................ Citizen has a Responsibility Not to Vote Poorly JMR ............................................................................. Compulsory voting does not change outcome .................................................................................................. Removing compulsory voting does not change the outcome of an election. RMF .................................. 57
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