Legal Commentary

According to a recent article in the New York Times, fewer eligible voters turned out to vote in New York than in any other state.  Minnesota, one of only six states where voter turnout exceeded 50%, recorded the highest turnout at 55.4 percent. 

In other countries, voting is mandatory.  For example, in Belgium (which has one of the highest voter turnout rates in the world) non-voters can be fined, and those who repeatedly fail to vote in elections may be disenfranchised for ten years.  In Peru and Greece those who fail to vote may be denied various goods and services provided by public offices; in Bolivia non-voters can be prevented from withdrawing their salary from their bank accounts for three months following the election. 

Would compulsory voting work here?  I think not.  Even if it would, compulsory voting assumes that low voter turnout is a bad thing.  But in some ways, isn?t choosing not to vote just as valid a political choice as choosing to vote?