Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Vote, Or Go To Jail?

By, Chris Rossini

As I recently pointed out here, I've been noticing that several mainstream scribblers have not been very happy with the anti-politics sentiment that has been bubbling up in the U.S.

Joe Nocera, of The New York Times, adds his name to the list (my emphasis):
"In America, people can go to jail for skipping jury duty, but there’s no penalty for not voting. I’m not advocating either fines or jail — not today, anyway — but I’ve got five reforms in mind that could both invigorate the electorate..."
Not today, anyway???

Is Nocera keeping the punishments for not voting idea in his back pocket for a rainy day? What an unbelievable statement! Fines or jail time should be completely out of the question!

One must wonder if the clip below indicates a possible future for the U.S., should such ridiculous ideas ever see the light of day:


99.98% turnout....Wow.

Is that what Nocera would like to see?

Let's hope that the freedom to not vote never goes away.


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10 comments:

  1. LOL Forcing libertarians and anarchists to vote. You know how many, FU's or Homer Simpson's would be on the written portion of the ballot? Even if they took the written portion away, they'll just get a bunch blank ballots back. But, just can't see this happening.

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  2. My last 2 votes were in 08 &12 in the R-cons pres primary for Ron Paul. I didn't vote in the general either time. At the 2012 primary my name was highlighted in yellow. I asked why. The volunteer said that it indicated I didn't vote in the last election. Just before the 2012 general I received a letter from some conservative sounding organization from Virginia. It's stated purpose was to encourage me to vote and to encourage me to convince my neighbors to vote. It also had a 2 column table. In column 1: a list names, mine, my wife, and our neighbors to either side. Column 2 said whether or not we had voted in the last election. My wife and I were the only non-voters. It said they would let me know after the election who voted. They lied about that. The illegible signature on the letter did not have a printed name below it. I almost sent a response to the return address on the envelope that simply said, "Dear [signature from letter], BOOO! with a John Hancock sized signature, but figured they wouldn't get the joke. My neighbor didn't receive the letter. To all the gov provocateurs out there, I ask you this: "What is your life? And are you happy with what your life is?"

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  3. Leave the boy alone. He's made his stand, and wishes to suffocate in a tomb of his own ignorance. [Think of it as mental masturbation. At least he cleans up after himself with the pages of the New York Times...]

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  4. Want more people to vote? Then add "None of the Above" as an option.

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  5. Australia requires its citizens to vote.

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  6. rather than North Korea which isn't really comparable (putting people to death with mortars hasn't happened here yet) Australia might be and even there compulsory voting just masks the problem that government is out for its own interests and forces the voters to accept it no matter what.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23810381

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  7. They are getting worried about people knowing the whole thing is a joke, and withdrawing their consent. I actually voted in the 2012 presidential election; I was debating whether to vote for Ron Paul, Gary Johnson (to gain more support for 3rd parties and pull power from the democr-publicans) or not vote. I ended up writing in Ron Paul to thumb my nose at them.

    Unless Ron Paul runs again in 2016 (unlikely) I don't plan to vote again. If they ever make me, I'll write in Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, you can't vote for Donald Duck. He died last year.

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    2. Hey! We're talking politics here. When has "being dead" ever stopped someone from voting? Hell our President uses a dead man's Social Security number...

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