Australia [message #58899] |
Mon, 17 July 2006 15:55 |
Manualblock
Messages: 4973 Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (13th Degree) |
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Anyone aware that it is a crime in Australia if you do not vote on election day? Its a fact; 100 Aus dollar fine. On election day its considered a national holiday and all business and public work is halted. The polls are open all day and the names of the voters are monitored for non-compliance. We need this.
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Freedom of Association? [message #58900 is a reply to message #58899] |
Wed, 19 July 2006 09:24 |
elektratig
Messages: 348 Registered: May 2009
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Grand Master |
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OK, MB, I'll bite. I'd guess there's a pretty good argument that such a law in the US would be unconstitutional -- unless, perhaps, the voting options included the right to cast a ballot that said, in effect, "I choose not to vote." Freedom of speech generally includes freedom of association, and freedom of association generally includes freedom of non-association -- that is, I have the right not to associate with (i.e., not to be linked to in such a way as to appear to agree with or endorse) any person or group I don't want to associate with. If you make me vote for a candidate -- or even if you make me vote for anyone (via a write-in ballot) -- you are arguably forcing me to associate with that person. Having just written the above, I then surfed around a bit. There does indeed seem to be a suggestion that mandatory voting would be unconstitutional unless an "NCA [No Candidate Acceptable] option" were included. Here's an article by John Dean (of all people).
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