One of the most predominant and upheld ideas in America is the belief in personal freedom. It is the freedom to choose our own actions, the gift of choice and having multiple options for every decision. This idea is reflected in many aspects of America, including the voting system; American citizens have always had the option of voting since its creation. But given that American citizens have the choice to vote, many opt not to, which results in low voter turn outs. In contrast, some countries have compulsory voting, a forced system of voting to improve low voter turn outs. While a good idea in theory, there is many flaws in the idea of compulsory voting. In order to enforce compulsory voting, national governments must have punishments for those who neglect voting, and this intrudes onto …show more content…
The voting system is already effective enough for the public. Document D notes that Italians, whose government enforces compulsory voting, are more dissatisfied with their electoral system than Americans are. In fact Americans have “among the highest voter satisfaction rates with their political institutions” (Document D). The compulsory voting system is proven to be ineffective here. The American citizens prefer not to vote as much, and therefore they should not be forced to. In the election of 2001 in Peru, 13% of the citizens had blank or null ballots (Document E). These votes counted for nothing, and would have the same effect if the citizens of Peru were not forced to vote anyway. Forcing the citizens to vote was completely unnecessary and wastes both the citizens’ and the government’s time. Compulsory voting in other countries is shown to be impractical for their citizens. If the American voting system already is effective and appeals to the broad public, why change it? The government is supposed to serve the