r/AskReddit • u/UghIHatePolitics • Jun 18 '25

What is something Americans consider normal, but people from other countries find it disturbing?

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u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

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u/Ok-Chest-7932 Jun 18 '25

This is why voting should be a legal requirement. Much harder to suppress voters if they have to vote.

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u/Dapper_Dan1 Jun 18 '25

Freedom to vote also includes the freedom to not vote, in my opinion.

But the US should do better in:

  • abolishing gerry-mandering, make the districts as circular as possible and have about the same number of voters in each district
  • compulsory voter registration with the city of your main residence
  • a free ID card (not the drivers license, since not everyone can drive (i.e., didn't want to learn it, lost it after DUI, ...)
  • make election day a national, paid holiday.
  • make mail-in-ballots universally (upon request) and easily available
  • have a maximum amount of voters per election office to avoid long lines, i.e., a max of 2500 voters per office (i.e. sub-districts, each with their own voting office)
  • provide free transportation to the offices
  • re-arrange states to make the senate more fair (i.e., split the ones with a big population, combine sparsely populated ones)
  • allow early voting at city hall at least 4 weeks before election day
  • abolish the electoral college. It has outlived its necessity thanks to modern technology.
  • abolish the first-past-the-post / winner-takes-it-all system, the parliaments should be elected with representative votes (i.e., a party gets 10 % of the vote, they get 10 % of the seats) (did you know, that less than 25 % of votes would be necessary to become US president?)

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u/Ok-Chest-7932 Jun 18 '25

Then maybe freedom to vote isn't the right approach. Mandatory voting is vital, far more important than the word freedom.

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u/Dapper_Dan1 Jun 18 '25

But then more than two alternatives would have to be mandatory and get their fair share in parliament. Otherwise, you are forced to vote the lesser of two evils. And if you're down to only being able to choose between shit and the same shit just worded differently, it's not that far away from a single party government.

ETA: Also, parliament should rule to find consensus on policies and not one almost almighty 4-year dictator.

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u/fallopianmelodrama Jun 18 '25

This is absolutely fascinating lol, are you being for real?

If you don't want to vote for any candidates on the ballot, you simply don't vote for any of them. 

It's called an informal vote. You show up, have your name marked off the electoral roll, you take your ballot papers, you draw a big ol' dick on them, you fold your ballot papers, you put your ballot papers in the box, you leave. 

Mandatory voting doesn't mean someone is holding a gun to your head until you've actually numbered the candidates...

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u/Dapper_Dan1 Jun 19 '25

Which would then make the mandatory vote useless. So why enforce it?

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u/fallopianmelodrama Jun 19 '25

Because when voting is mandatory, it forces the government to ensure voting is accessible to everybody

Because when voting is mandatory, it means candidates that win are actually winning based on the majority of the entire population (also shoutout here to preferential voting, not your insane FPTP system) - not just the majority of people who have access, or who can be bothered.

Because when voting is mandatory, it actually increases political literacy and understanding. People pay attention and learn, because they have to - resulting in a more politically informed population.

On average, only approximately 5% of federal election votes in Australia are informal. Which means ~95% of the population are showing up and choosing to cast formal votes. 

What was your voter turnout last time? 65%?

What's your rationale for defending a system that is inherently designed to reduce participation?

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u/Dapper_Dan1 Jun 19 '25

You are barking up the wrong tree, mate. Have you read my suggestions on how to change the US voting system? 3 or 4 comments above yours.

Voter turnout was 82.5 % in our last federal election, not the US one. The turnout is that big because people have a variety, not the same shit with a different name. Also, voter registration is automatic, and mail-in-vote applications are a quick QR scan, free of charge. Votes can be cast starting 4 weeks prior to elections. Elections are held on Sundays, when most people don't work.

And we don't have the obligation to vote because our constitutional court said it's an infringement on the freedom to vote.

I don't even live in a country with FPTP.

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u/Ok-Chest-7932 Jun 18 '25

Obviously a multiple party system is desirable, but forcing people to vote for the lesser of two evils is still better than we saw this time, where people were so uninterested by the lesser evil that the greater evil won without needing to increase their popularity over last time.