tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7525976427330328394.post1519770428304223170..comments2024-03-25T16:48:42.738-04:00Comments on CAVEBEAR'S LAIR: US Presidential CampaignMark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11135668126649348317noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7525976427330328394.post-10629617145124400492016-05-04T02:17:19.555-04:002016-05-04T02:17:19.555-04:00There's been a lot of coverage of the primarie...There's been a lot of coverage of the primaries in our press over here Mark. I thought one comment made in recent days that American politics would benefit from implementing Australia's compulsory voting was interesting. Yep - ya gotta vote in Australia or face a hefty fine. Mind you, it's made very easy to vote, with elections always held on Saturdays and polling booths in lots and lots of places - school halls, church halls, community centres etc etc. (That means that there's virtually no queuing to vote - in and out in 5 minutes - and you don't have to look very hard to find somewhere to vote.) In addition, with advances in technology, more and more people are choosing to use a 'postal vote', which in practice, typically means voting online rather than using snail mail. <br /><br />Anyhoo, the argument was that American politics would be pushed back to the centre (from both sides) if politicans/candidates understood the need to appeal to every adult member of the community - not just those motivated to go to the trouble of voting. <br /><br />The same writer, however, said that compulsory voting would never happen in the USA as there was such a deeply entrenched view opposed to 'compulsory' almost anything! LOL<br /><br />Megan<br />Sydney, AustraliaMeganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03143400920174171516noreply@blogger.com