Another reason to live in Australia: at least two recent High Court decisions have effectively prevented the franchise from being restricted from its current level.
The franchise can be expanded at the will of the Parliament, but an aspect of franchise once granted cannot be wound back by a later Parliament.
Personally I think that this is a wonderful principle to have.
The American Democratic System is 2nd to none. But it's the tampering with it, the deliberate acts of sabotage, that if was done in a different country, the US would be screaming blue bloody murder!
Another thing; too many people sit on their asses and don't vote come election time. I would if I could change the law that voting for federal elections was compulsory for all eligible voters 18 years of age and over.
In a modern democratic and fully enfranchised* country, such as the USA, (Germany, Britain, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, etc,) voting for citizens is neither a right nor a privilege. It is part of a citizen's duty** to have their say in the government of the day.
If a citizen is "uninterested in politics" to the extent they don't care to vote, or are sufficiently ill-informed to make an informed decision, then they are cheating their nation, and it's people, at least as much as if they were actively avoiding paying appropriate taxes or stealing government funds/goods.
That's not a 'citizen', that's a parasite.
(*) Increasingly, it seems, the USA is not a fully enfranchised democratic nation.
(**) I know, duty, like responsibility, is increasingly a four-letter word in the modern 'Western world' mindset.
(Apologies for the touch of necro-thread-ia, but I couldn't let this one slide.)
The franchise can be expanded at the will of the Parliament, but an aspect of franchise once granted cannot be wound back by a later Parliament.
Personally I think that this is a wonderful principle to have.
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Another thing; too many people sit on their asses and don't vote come election time. I would if I could change the law that voting for federal elections was compulsory for all eligible voters 18 years of age and over.
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If a citizen is "uninterested in politics" to the extent they don't care to vote, or are sufficiently ill-informed to make an informed decision, then they are cheating their nation, and it's people, at least as much as if they were actively avoiding paying appropriate taxes or stealing government funds/goods.
That's not a 'citizen', that's a parasite.
(*) Increasingly, it seems, the USA is not a fully enfranchised democratic nation.
(**) I know, duty, like responsibility, is increasingly a four-letter word in the modern 'Western world' mindset.
(Apologies for the touch of necro-thread-ia, but I couldn't let this one slide.)
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