Forum Post: Fine people $100.00 for not voting!!!
Posted 11 years ago on May 3, 2012, 7:02 p.m. EST by rosy1rosy
(2)
from Secaucus, NJ
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
in australia, people are fined for not voting. if people were fined $100.00 for not voting, you you would see much higher voter participation
Just what we need more clueless voters. Unless you can fine them for willfully remaining ignorant of the issues why bother forcing them to vote? The problem isn't just with poor turnout. Too many votes are cast for a slogan or out of fears generated by a 30 second attack ad.
I think that fining people for not voting may be considered a violation of their First Amendment rights of Freedom of Speech.
Well we really don't care about that, do we? As long as the corporations get their first amendment rights that is all that matters because, after all, the first amendment was written for them, wasn't it?
you are guaranteed the right to vote, that doesn't mean you have to.
Exactly my point.
ows people have no use for the constitution unless they want to use it against you.
You people who seriously think the voting system is going to change anything are kidding yourself. Look around. Look at the earth. Look at our history. The political system is a puppet show. A charade to give you the dim illusion of choice and freedom. The voting system is a fake joke.
Hope isn't lost by any means. But those who think the way through this bottleneck of history is through the fucking political or voting system are out of they're minds. We're way way way past that point
I don't know how it is in your State, but in mine, every time a (R)epelican't gets elected, it gets a whole lot dimmer.
One hell of whole lot dimmer.
Well, I guess you can better have proportional representation, so there are more political parties to choose from.
Put the idea on http://the99percentvotes.com to get feedback and maybe get it to be a popular idea.
Wow this website is really cool. I was planning on making a consensus building tool myself but it looks like these guys beat me to it.
Thanks. Sign up! If you have ideas for how to make the site better, add them to http://dev.the99percentvotes.com
I just launched it on Thursday, and need to spread the word
I'm assuming you made this? Want some criticism?
Yeah, I made it. Sure, let's hear the criticism
What did you code this in? How many people developed this? Were you funded or working out of a basement?
Cakephp, me + approximately 2. Self-funded. I've been doing it from my apartment in Chelsea
Very cool. How long did it take you guys to build?
Idea conceived in October, programming started in January
Well you guys did a great job. It's very clean looking and functional, looks much nicer than the crappy design I cobbled together for this site
Thanks. I hope it works and helps. Thanks for the input and feedback
Posting it on your site
Looks cool.
How about a lottery? I've heard that suggested by a few people.
That half the voting population doesn't vote is a symptom. It doesn't mean that they are dumb or lazy (sounds like right wing BS), but its a symptom. A symptom that people no longer believe that their vote counts or makes any difference. People are disenfranchised with politics.
Fining them five year's gross income seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?
If so, that is OK for poor people should folks like Mitt pay $100,000,000. for the same offense? Five years is five years.
yeah but fining people for not voting is a serious infringement of rights
I disagree. We should not force people to vote if they don't want to. This idea would be met with a lot of resistance in the USA.
nor should they have to work on voting day
So police, firefighters, and medical professionals shouldn't have to work, due to a voting day?
We need people working to keep everything running. Employers should perhaps allow people time during work to vote, but nobody should be entitled to a day off due to voting, especially with more states allowing early voting (such as vote-by-mail).
elections should be national holidays .....
those that are getting pinched for money need time to vote
as long as there is an undecided option there.
While everyone should vote that idea is horribly not American. We shouldn't punish people for not voting. People have the freedom to vote or not vote. While it is extremely bad for someone not to vote and if you don't vote you're basically spitting on the graves of all our dead soldiers. You can't pay people to vote either.
People get paid to vote in Chicago. Not everbody, just the ones on union buses.
Ya, that'll be great. Right up to the time when the Democrats are looking to buy more votes, and they subsidize the fine for blacks, and gays, and aliens, and monkeys and dogs, and anyone else whose vote they need, unless of course, they vote Republican.
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You would also end up with a bunch of moronic decisions being made by people who do not do the research. The act of NOT voting is also a decision.
knucklehead - this is a slow deliberative process. first get the idiots to the polls. they can start realizing their power to affect election results. then they can begin to focus on a better selection of candidates that truly address their needs.
Pompous Ding-a-ling; we have a nation of people who are more interested in why Kim Kardashian is unhappy and could not begin to name their own state senators and congressmen. Fining people will not change this. Imagine the sincere response you might get if you did not start off with name calling?
If they are that lazy, they are just going to vote for whoever the tv tells them to anyways. ITs pointless.
100% of the population voting for Dems and Reps wont change a damn thing.
i doubt that
What about a $100 tax credit for those who voted in the most recent elections before tax day?
Damn, Xenu, what's your secret? I got downvoted twice for suggesting something along those lines. And I even said it was unworkable.
Actually, I think I got on someone's bad side. Not that it really matters, though.
The wording is a bit different, but yeah, basically the same thing. I wouldn't sweat it.
I don't, just having a little fun with you. Those "karma points" are a meaningless distraction anyway. What this forum lacks are . . . emoticons!
What for?! All that does is provide the .01% with more voters to hide the rigged elections in. I say the most patriotic thing we can do for Americans, ie each other, not the globalist elites is go on a voter's strike...not one single person should vote. If every person sat down on voting day and didn't vote, how quickly would "they" get the message that we all understand that its all rigged and we don't trust the voting system and we have lost complete respect for politicians. What would they do if they looked outside the voting stations and witnessed a sea of flag waving, quiet, sitting patriots....and not a single person went in to vote? Unprecedented! A giant patriotic step forward for USA...not the politicians and globalists.
it would be easier to get more people to vote than get nobody to vote
and people that vote are more likely to care about the political results
I would love to see the response to that in the MSM. It would be panic like DC's never seen before. Unfortunately, you know them. Somehow they would turn it against us.
Yah....I know, but I can still dream can't I ?! Ultimately though, I do believe that non-compliance is the most effective way to protest. The safest too. Gauging by how OWS has unfolded so far, I see major blood in the streets coming soon. Both by stupes in the public, but even more so by the gov. It has been common practice throughout history, that governments will covertly kill their own cops, citizens, whoever, and use it as a reason to justify cracking down on protesters. Don't think for a minute that they won't. I just feel it in the air. I've been wanting to write a good long thread post on the subject. I hope others make similar posts as well. I'll get to it in the next day or so. I just think there are several smarter and safer ways to protest. We the people have soooo much more power than we are utilizing at the moment.
Ahhhh....but wouldn't it be great if we all sat down and didn't vote?! They would HAVE to do something!
I know you already know this, but maybe someone else will see this to get some perspective......
The Tiny Dot ( .oOOOOOOOOOOO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6b70TUbdfs
It is a nice dream. I actually considered the idea of a voter boycott, but knew there would never be enough people to go along. And if we did, they'd just rig the election again and move their guy into the White House. You know their game.
Cool link! That pretty much sums things up, doesn't it?
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I'm not sure that would work. There are many reasons people don't vote and some may not care about a $100 fine. Some people would probably pay the fine and not vote anyway. But, if you PAID people $100 to vote, the poor would come out in droves. And that, in my opinion, would be far more effective. Not that I think it's a workable idea, though.
I think we need more than just voting though, when our choices are limited. We need political mechanisms that will ensure our survival, regardless of who is in office, at least for the most basic necessities now.
That is, we need a strong impeachment process going that would immediately get rid of any president, regardless of what party, if he even makes a move towards undeclared foreign war.
Now, that we could be facing Russia and China over Iran and Syria, we have to realize that the absolute elimination of military adventures is necessary.
The same would go for recovery measures. If the president does not take the necessary steps towards the recovery of the economy, such as passing Glass Steagall and and a public works program like the New Deal, he, or she, gets impeached immediately.
These measures are solely intended to insure our survival. We need to set a precedent that every president will be compelled to adhere to.
No more war! Sure. I'm with that. Lets start with all living presidents. Lets also impeach/jail any one who refuses to help the American worker out the hole created by the 1%!!! Let's jail anyone who attempts to suppress American voters. Mandatory voting for all!!!. Once we get everyone voting we can do so much in creating the laws and control of the war machine it ain't funny. It scares the crap out of the 1%. Support ows! Vote out vote suppressing republicans.
Hi, Arturo. Agree completely. I was talking about impeachment with someone earlier today. How one would go about strengthening what we already have? And, about the oath of office. It's a contract so if the President violates the terms of the contract, the contract should be null and void.
Hi. Glad to hear you think so. Also, impeachment can be proceeded with on the basis of insanity. Any president who doesn't do what's needed to revive our economy, or who gets us into an undeclared war should be recognized as insane and impeached.
True. I'm beginning to believe they're indeed insane. How can they not see the writing on the wall?
That's right, we need a real impeachment movement that clearly defines insanity as continuing to do the things that have gotten us into this predicament in the first place.
I've been trying to figure out their game. I understand their desire (don't agree with it, of course) to lock down the world's resources, but at what cost? Is it really worth it if the planet becomes unlivable? They're psychopaths, I guess.
Indeed so, from what I hear, some of those at the very top come from in bred aristocratic families, with all kinds of cultist brain washing added on top.
Mostly, they want to reduce the population to around a billion people. They'd just like to kill off five billion of us, homicidal maniacs.
Inbreeding would explain a lot of it, wouldn't it? And this depopulation agenda is crazy. Just saw a small clip of Bill Gates talking about it on TED and with his casual attitude, you'd think he was Bob Barker telling the audience to make sure and spay and neuter their pets. I'm thinking psychopathy must be a prerequisite for membership in their "club."
What is TED?
I don't know what the letters stand for but it's a non-profit devoted to spreading ideas. Here's their homepage:
http://www.ted.com/
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Greed is blind and unreasoning in it's desire. It is a mental illness. It's main supporters if not sick in the same manner - do not have a care for tomorrow or their fellow man, just for their own immediate needs.
True words. The cure will be a tough pill. People need to start teaching their kids the folly of greed. At least then, future generations will have a more balanced outlook on life and their fellow man.
This should well be another important instructional period in history.
Absolutely. Oh, to have a crystal ball and be able to see how future historians will view this time in history.
Too late to impeach Bush though you could maybe start a campaign to try him for treason.
Him and his daddy too.
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Hmmmm,that's something to consider but would you also approve of voter/photo ID? I do,I mean if the Govt. was to institute a fine on non-voters then there must be a voter/photo ID nation wide implementation and it should be extremely regulated. The amount of regulation involved in doing this should be a real crowd pleas'er among Dems and Liberals. This would hopefully dissuade Illegals from voting and stop for the most part voter fraud.
You're just afraid of the masses voting. You know the free ride would be Over!!!!
voting for everyone
Please define "the masses"? Please explain "free ride"?
The masses are the 99% of American people. the free ride is the politicians/laws that get passed to benefit the 1%. Support the 99%. support ows. mandatory voting. vote out the 1% lovin republicans
Do you even pay attention to anything besides Leftist propaganda?
I'm paying attention to your posts. Why don't you want the 99% to vote? because they would against your precious elitist republican party? support the 99% mandatory voting. support ows.
Okay,are you in favor of Illegal Aliens voting? Do they fit into your definition of "99%"?
No, of course not. Make em legal 1st.! We need the immigrants who've come here. they are only illegal because we have arbitrary, unreasonably low immigration quotas. lets make em legal then make em vote. You got a problem with that too? Are you a republican? support ows. vote out the anti immigrant republicans
Legalize criminals? So they can vote for the Dems who will give them all a free ride on Govt. hand outs?
"make em legal then make em vote"....so you purpose to force them to vote?....of course for Dems right?
Reps are anti-ILLEGAL immigrant.
It should be a mandatory civic duty for every American citizen to vote. for whoever they want. or vote for no one. trhey can write in there own name. mickey mouse. They don't have to vote democratic. but as I said illegal immigrants should not be allowed. got it? support ows support mandatory voting. vote out anti immigrant republicans
If you truly feel they should be able to write in their own name or even Mickey Mouse, why would you want to make such a meaningless act mandatory?
Voting is about supporting issues (including the election of those who claim to support those issues) one is in favor of that one feels has a good chance of being accepted. If one's issues don't have a good chance of being accepted and the issues that do have a good chance of being accepted are not in one's interests, mandatory voting on those issues would be an act of oppression.
There can't be both freedom of choice and mandatory choosing.
It's one or the other.
Voting is about choosing the person to represent you. Maybe a voter thinks he is best. Maybe no one on the ballot is best. Maybe a voter wants use his vote to register a complaint, a protest! As long everyone votes. We will get enough (vast majority) real votes to have best representation.
I don't see oppression. That don't make sense. not even a good try.
support ows. vote out vote suppressing republicans
If voting were only about choosing a person to represent you, there wouldn't be ballot initiatives. A person doesn't represent you without supporting your issues that they themselves will be voting for in office.
As for what a voter wants, a voter obviously wants the choice of when and when not to vote or else so many wouldn't freely exercise their choice not to vote. A freedom you apparently would like to deprive them of by coercing them into doing something against their will while claiming you don't see the oppression in it. Nevertheless, the 1st Amendment prohibits such oppression from being carried out.
"Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech,..."
Mandatory voting is essentially a compelled speech act, which violates freedom of speech because the freedom to speak necessarily includes the freedom not to speak (that is, to not have to express a choice).
Suppot freedom, not totalitarianism.
You must vote or you have no right to enjoy American rights. You must do jury duty, you must vote. It;s not oppression. Everyone should vote. They could choose to vote no. Thats ok.
No, there is no 'must' whatsoever when it comes to a person's choice whether or not to vote and no abridging of their rights for not voting. That's simply not going to change. Freedom of speech in that regard will remain just that...a freedom, not a mandate.
Support Freedom http://occupywallst.org/forum/free-democracy-amendment/
These people are criminals,they broke the law to get into this country. What part of that concept are you having a problem with?
Get a grip. people have been comin here illegally for all our history. These people came to work. Most are honest decent people. Make em legal. It's simple. You got a problem with that? The more workers we have the more tax revenue we get. the 1% should like that. Of course aren't the 1% the ones who hire them? support ows support immigration, vote out anti immigrant republicans
So if people have been murdering people "for all our history" why then should it be against the law? If people have been stealing and raping "for all our history" why then should it be against the law? Using your logic,I'm hoping you might see how ridicules and asinine your argument is.
raping and murder are a little different from crossing a border. I didn't say it should not be legal. I didn't say illegals should vote. I said they shouldn't.! I guess you disagree with my statement that we should make them legal. Is that it? hung up on that are we?