BonaLibro

Telling Americans to Vote, or Else – NYTimes.com.

This is one of the best suggestions to come along in a long time. Our political system has too long been dominated, particularly during the primary season, by people who do not represent the vast majority of potential voters in the general election. This leaves many people feeling alienated from the political process and therefore unwilling to vote. And it leads to legislation that has nothing to do with most people’s concerns and provides both parties with ammunition to turn against their opponents. Requiring people to vote might make the majority more concerned and involved in the political process, reduce the power of the radicals, and lead to more sensible legislation designed to solve the nation’s real problems.

Who knows, it might even facilitate the rise of alternative parties that represent other points of view than the two intellectually moribund parties that have inspired so little confidence for the past fifty years. It is little wonder that voter participation rates have dropped precipitously since the sixties, when the radicals took over both parties and initiated class and culture wars that are still being fought today. Requiring all Americans to vote in both the primaries and the general elections, and giving them a holiday to do it, might be just what is needed to get us out of the morass we are in.