Should Americans be Forced to Vote?

Some guy who is paid a fat salary by a rich think tank says that the best way to raise voter turnout is to force folks to vote. The New York Times gave him lots of space

This guy fails to see the cause of low interest and low turnout – political powerlessness. Turnout largely follows the power/wealth scale in the US. Turnout increases as you go up the scale, and decreases as you go down it. The wealthiest have the highest turnout, and the most power to get what they want from government.

Indeed, elections and government are dominated by the top 1%. Barack Obama says as much in The Audacity of Hope: When socializing with rich campaign contributors, “I found myself avoiding certain topics during conversations with them. … I had no problem telling [them] that the tax cuts they’d received from George Bush should be reversed. … Still, I know that as a consequence of my fund-raising I became more like the wealthy donors I met …,” page 137. Its them he serves first. These key potential campaign contributors of big money are “the top 1 percent or so of the income scale,” page 136, The Audacity of Hope

The lower you go on the wealth and power scale the more intense is the awareness people have of their political alienation. Why bother to go to the polls when you already know it won’t do you any good?

The solution is to have an election system in which the rich and poor, and the moderate middle class, have genuine equality. When the election system is no longer skewed towards the top, folks will feel more empowered. They will turnout more just to feel the joy of exercising their political power. The US should redistribute electoral power as it should be in an authentic democracy.

But to use government power to force folks to vote, like this think tank guy says, won’t advance democracy. That would be merely another act of humiliation of the 99ers.

William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
Twitter: wjkno1
Author of Internet Voting Now!

Pennsylvania Independents Advance: not a single one of the approximately 39,000 York County voters who are not registered with either major party got a vote on Tuesday

Have you noticed? There's a virtual all-out campaign for Open Primaries in Pennsylvania -- led by Independent Pennsylvanians. Get to know them -- they're changing politics in PA!

PENNSYLVANIA INDEPENDENTS

• Independent voters to help Pennsylvania keep its electoral clout in 2012 (By The Patriot-News) Statewide, Democrats still hold a big edge, largely because of overwhelming majorities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. There are 1.1 million more registered Democrats statewide than Republicans.  “But that advantage doesn’t always show up,” said Treadway, the retired Kutztown political scientist. “People don’t always vote their party affiliation. There are a lot of people who are moderates and independents, and they swing back and forth. It’s just not an extremely liberal or conservative state.”
• Abysmal Primary Voter Turnout Was Shameful - Those who did cast ballots shaped general election races. (By Tom De Martini, Upper Macungie Patch) Maybe it's because Pennsylvania's primaries are "closed" to independent voters. Still, Republicans and Democrats turned out in very small numbers to support candidates.
• State primary system draws local criticism for excluding independents, others (By TOM JOYCE, York Daily Record/Sunday News) And not a single one of the approximately 39,000 York County voters who are not registered with either major party got a vote on Tuesday. That includes those registered as independents, as well as third parties such as the Greens and Libertarians. That's because Pennsylvania is among 25 states with closed primaries, meaning only people registered with a given party can vote in that party's primary. Since cross-filed candidates are registered as Republicans and Democrats, those who don't fall into either category can't vote for them… State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester, has proposed legislation that would allow registered independents to vote either on the Republican or Democratic ticket during primaries.

Low Voter Turnout in Kentucky Closed Primary

KENTUCKY PRIMARY
Independent Kentucky 

April 18, 2011

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The final count for voter turnout in the 2011 Kentucky primary election was 10.34%, becoming one of the lowest voter turnouts in Kentucky history.

Two obvious problems affecting voter turnout in Kentucky are a closed primary system and partisan voter registration, which have both been found to restrict voter participation.

Although some members of the Kentucky Legislature and Michael P. W. Lewis, Chairman of Independent Kentucky, have been introducing bills which would allow open primaries, recent attempts have fallen just short of passing.

This afternoon, Lewis met with US Congressman John Yarmuth, who said he believed partisan voter registration was partly to blame for low primary turnout.

Michael Lewis said he was optimistic about the possibility of a national dialog dedicated to open primaries after his meeting with Yarmuth.

“He seemed to concede some of our points, and was very receptive,” said Lewis.

Independent Kentucky remains dedicated to working toward open primaries and non-partisan voter registration for Kentucky and American voters.
# # #

Contact: William Bowe, Communications Director

Phone: 859-536-1537

Email: wrbowe@gmail.com

www.independentkentucky.org


Only 10 percent turn out to cast their votes (By Janet Patton and Jennifer Hewlett, Lexington Herald Leader) That's the lowest turnout in a gubernatorial primary election since 1999, when only 8.6 percent of voters went to the polls. In 2003, 21 percent voted; in 2007, 22 percent voted.

Citizens Union Dick Dadey to NYC Charter Revision Commission: Yes to Nonpartisan Top Two

Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, NYC's premiere government watchdog, testifies before Charter Revision Commission at PS 58 - Space Shuttle Columbia School in Staten Island, Monday, August 8, 2010. Average voter turnout in NYC special elections, which are nonpartisan, over past 10 years have been 57% greater than the average assembly race. When voters are given a choice rather than a foregone conclusion, they turn out. Urge the Commission to reach a little higher, aim further.