On the issue of mandatory voting

Last week, President Obama was answering questions in Cleveland, Ohio, about a variety of subjects. One question had to do with the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and the effects of the ruling in favor of big money and corporate involvement in politics. His answer surprised me.

“Other countries have mandatory voting. It would be transformative if everybody voted — that would counteract (campaign) money more than anything.”

That was an eye opener for me. Here is my one word answer to this idea: “no”. That may take some by surprise, yet it is my final answer in this game.

Here’s why.

I am a huge advocate of voting. I have written more than a few articles on the subject trying to get people off their duffs and vote. Sometimes I felt like beating my head against the wall from voter apathy.

I believe it is a precious right purchased at a high price for all freedom-loving Americans. It is also a choice. That right to choose goes hand in hand with the responsibility to vote.

Mandatory voting takes away that freedom of choice. I believe it would do more harm to our political system than good.

Granted, partisan politics have ground much of our government operations in Washington, D.C., to halt. And the nation’s voting record is, frankly, an international embarrassment. There are developing nations that do better than us.

I would love to see that change. But mandatory voting is not the answer.

There are 22 countries that practice this, though only 13 enforce it. Enforcement is through fines, mostly. Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, Liechtenstein and North Korea are a few countries that mandate voting.

And it does seem to work in most of those countries, although one has to wonder about North Korea. I shudder to think what the authorities would do to a citizen refusing to vote over there.

No, I am not jumping on the “everything is Obama’s fault bandwagon,” as far too many have over the years. I just think the president got it wrong this time around.

Mandatory voting is a somewhat good idea on paper, but it isn’t an idea that I could support. It takes away too much from what makes America the land of the free, in my opinion. The freedom to choose not to vote, is just as vital as the freedom to cast a vote.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.