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POP 6

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Go to

http://www.idea.int/vt/compulsory_voting.cfm

Read the article & then note the countries listed at the bottom where voting is compulsory. My colleague was in Greece, a country with compulsory voting, during an election in the 1990s. She said that the excitement & level of participation are strikingly different than in the US. People return to their villages to vote. It's part national holiday, part family reunion. After the polls close, people wait in public, generally in outdoor cafes & squares, for the results.

Some have suggested the US make voting compulsory. Is this a good idea? or a bad idea? Explain.

Once you have posted your first message, please continue to participate in discussion throughout the week. And don’t forget to cast your vote in POP 6 at the Surveys tool.

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No one should ever be forced to vote. Voting is a privilege that you should be able to choose to take advantage of or not to. Many people just simply do not care about politics. If the normal non-voters were forced to vote there would be an increase in random votes. Is more participation really better? If the U.S. practiced compulsory voting, how would we know that the elected official was the one that the people wanted in the office? I think it is an all around bad idea. No one should be sanctioned for not taking advantage of their right to vote.

· Pop 6

I had never even heard of voting being forced, and I don't think I agree with it. It is one thing to be forced to cast a ballot, but another to actually force someone to keep up with politics and actually care about who they are voting for and the issues that representative stands for. I can imagine that there would be plenty of people who know very little about the candidate they vote for. I am a prime example actually. I know the primary candidates running now, but I don't feel like I know enough to make a decision that I would feel confident in if I were forced to vote.

· Issues with Voting in America

As many people have noted, compulsory voting could cause many people to just choose a random candidate since they are uneducated on the issues at hand. It can cause people to build up disdain for our government as they feel like their freedom is being taken away.

To me, this highlights deeper issues in America. The fact that so many people are uninformed about what they are voting on in elections is appalling. This shows that we do not have the correct education system in place to help our citizens realize how important voting is and how important being informed is.

Another issue is that people want to reap the benefits of living in this country without completing their civil duties. Everyone tends to have pride in our freedom, think our government is corrupt, and yet still get upset when they have to go to jury duty. We need to do a better job of explaining how our government was created, and how it will become corrupt if we do not participate in our civil duties such as voting.

People who complain that their choice is being taken away by being forced to vote should not be reaping the benefits that our country provides. If someone does not want to participate in voting or any of their other civil duties then they have no right to complain about their choice being taken away. If they do not want to act like a real citizen, and comply with everything that entails, then I do not see why they feel upset. Freedom is not something that is easy to acquire and maintain, it is something that was fought for, and has to be fought for everyday, and voting is part of the fight to maintain freedom.

· Compulsory Voting

I believe that voting should not be compulsory. I agree with the article in that making voting compulsory would be against our freedom. We are a free country and therefore it should not be made mandatory to vote. In my opinion, if people who do not want to vote are forced to vote by law and they choose not to inform themselves of the candidates, then they will just put a name down on the ballet without any cares. I could be wrong though because it could happen the opposite way and everyone would pay more attention to the candidates so that a certain president wouldn't get elected due to carelessness. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it did in my head. I just feel like if someone does not want to vote, they should not be forced to vote.

POP 7
What have you learned this semester about the role of interest groups—yours & groups in general--in US politics?

How effectively does your group use the tactics described in the textbook?

Note: Respond to one question at a time, please. You can post as many messages as you like, but too much information about too many different topics is confusing. Feel free to bring in discussion about any of the survey questions as well.

Once you have posted your first message, please continue to participate in discussion throughout the week. And don’t forget to cast your vote in POP 7 at the Surveys tool.

POP 8

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What do you think motivates people to run for political office? Would you ever consider running for office? Why or why not?

What political leaders (national, state, or local) (past or present) do you admire? Why?

Note: Respond to one question at a time, please. You can post as many messages as you like, but too much information about too many different topics is confusing.

Once you have posted your first message, please continue to participate in discussion throughout the week. And don’t forget to cast your vote in POP 8 at the Surveys tool.

POP 10

What have you learned this semester?

Respond to one of the questions below, & then continue to participate throughout the week. Don’t forget to take POP 10 by the deadline.

What is something you learned this semester that surprised or shocked you?

What is the most useful thing you’ve learned?

Has the course changed how you think about politics or gotten you more (or less!) interested in politics?

If you could pick a country to live in, would it be the US or somewhere else?

Note: Respond to one question at a time, please. You can post as many messages as you like, but too much information about too many different topics is confusing.

Once you have posted your first message, please continue to participate in discussion throughout the week. And don’t forget to cast your vote in POP 10 at the Surveys tool.

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