Posted on 03/20/2015 11:08:16 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Mandatory voting might be a big boon for the Democratic Party, but the idea President Obama floated this week of forcing Americans to show up at the polls and cast ballots is never going to happen, legal experts told FoxNews.com.
Obama made the comment while speaking to a civic group in Cleveland on Wednesday, noting that some countries require citizens to cast ballots in key elections.
"If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country," Obama said, calling it "potentially transformative." Not only that, Obama said, but universal voting would "counteract money more than anything."
But the Constitution guarantees the right not to vote, according to Rutgers School of Law Professor Frank Askin, an expert on election law. He said the right to free speech enjoyed by all Americans extends to making a constitutionally protected statement by not taking part in the election process.
“I don't think you can do it in this country because I don’t think the First Amendment would permit it," said Askin, who did say that automatic voter registration is a possibility. "People have a right to opt out of elections. It's not happening."
Voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was just 37 percent, according to the United States Election Project. Obama noted that universal voting would mean increasing the vote among the younger, poorer, less educated and more racially diverse segments of the population, a development that some experts believe might benefit Obama's Democratic Party.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Constitution experts on mandatory health insurance: never happen
Who is stopping him now?
+1
YEAH ... sure, if a lot of those people were “made to vote” they would probably vote “PRESENT” or “NONE OF THE ABOVE” ... :-) ...
I can't tell you how many people who have told me proudly that they have never voted for a Republican.
But I can not remember anyone who ever told me that they have never voted for a Republican.
Obamacare - ain’t gonna happen
Foreign-born president - ain’t gonna happen
Warrantless searches and seizures - ain’t gonna happen
A Marxist media - ain’t gonna happen
Rabidly anti-American public education system - ain’t gonna happen
Mandatory voting...
I meant to say...
But I can not remember anyone who ever told me that they have never voted for a democRat.
The federal government can require you to vote.
You must mark it off on your tax form.
A tax penalty will be due if you did not vote.
We have precedent for this already.
I wish the Constitution mattered enough that I could believe this expert. Compelling people to actively support gay “weddings” is a clear violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of religion. It should be easy for America’s enemies to push through something less obviously unconstitutional.
He doesn’t care about taxpayers voting. He’s concerned about 100% (or more) turnout of his base. So he could require proof of having voted for EBT cards.
Gulag AmeriKa.. No vote. No food.
Never is a long long time kiddies.
No, but they can be bribed into turning out to make it a requirement to show proof of voting to receive government benefits.
I would go with mandatory; every voter must have a vested interest; pay taxes without subsidy, receive no gov’t handouts, own property or other appreciating investment asset, no serious criminal history, must be able to speak, read, write English and have a working knowledge of founding documents and civic responsibility.
All the above would be mandatory in order to vote.
After September 11 if someone had told me that we would have a present named Barack Hussein Obama I would not have believed it. Now he’s wanting to turn his back on Israel, negotiate with Cuba, Iran and North Korea. I fear to think what this country will be like in 10 years.
Let me be the first. I have never voted for a democrat.
“Yu must vote! But, yu must only vote fer ze vun candidate vee tell yu to vote fer!”
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