Rudd plans to lower voting age to 16 (1 Viewer)

[S.H.O.D.A.N.]

I'm extremely thankful that Australia's founding fathers had the foresight to make voting compulsory.

This way instead of only the extremists having a say in how the country is run, as in America, everyone does.

 

[The_highwayman]

I'm extremely thankful that Australia's founding fathers had the foresight to make voting compulsory.

This way instead of only the extremists having a say in how the country is run, as in America, everyone does.

but then, it's up to the politicians to inspire the everyman to want to vote.
which means they probably have to work harder rather than just relying mostly on the blue collar/white collar split we see in this country

 

[dieburndie]

I'm extremely thankful that Australia's founding fathers had the foresight to make voting compulsory.

This way instead of only the extremists having a say in how the country is run, as in America, everyone does.

That is a completely ridiculous statement for so many reasons.

 

[S.H.O.D.A.N.]

That is a completely ridiculous statement for so many reasons.

The first or the second sentence? The first sure as fuck isn't - it's an opinion.

You're free to argue why you feel the way you do about compulsory voting of course. Please do.

 

[jb_nc]

please name one of the founding fathers of australia

 

[S.H.O.D.A.N.]

please name one of the founding fathers of australia

Sure. Henry Parkes.

"The founding fathers" simply refers to the men and women who worked on making Australia a federation, drafting a constitution, laying an electoral framework (e.g. creation of the Senate, introduction of proportional and preferential electoral math), etc.

Smugness fail, jb_nc.

Edit: A less well known founding father would be Thomas Hare, who founded our proportional voting system.

 

[chicky_pie]

please name one of the founding fathers of australia

god

 

[chicky_pie]

holy shit thats alot of red.

I know! fuckin' labor supporters dont like your opinions they neg you red

 

[A High Way Man]

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. That country was AUSTRALIA

 

[John McCain]

I don't believe there should be any age.

 

[dieburndie]

The first or the second sentence? The first sure as fuck isn't - it's an opinion.

You're free to argue why you feel the way you do about compulsory voting of course. Please do.

Okay.

This way instead of only the extremists having a say in how the country is run, as in America, everyone does.

Please explain how voluntary voting results in only extremists having a say in political matters. You also might want to explain how such a system elected a president with very similar views to our own prime minister.

Why should an individual be forced by the government to vote? Doesn't that go against what representative democracy supposedly aims to achieve in the first place- the empowerment of individual citizens?

Furthermore, how do you believe the votes of the apathetic, unwilling and uninformed benefit our political system? Compulsary voting strongly favours incumbent leaders, and caters overwhelmingly towards major parties. Ignorant, populist politics like we are seeing currently can be at least partly attributed to voting laws. In any society that even remotely respects individual choice, voting should be voluntary.

 

[Epic Emily]

People who don't care at 16 aren't going to care at 18 either... It's nice to think people mature... well, yeah, dream on Australia it ain't gonna happen, buuuuuuuut I guess that's life.

 

[dieburndie]

People who don't care at 16 aren't going to care at 18 either... It's nice to think people mature... well, yeah, dream on Australia it ain't gonna happen, buuuuuuuut I guess that's life.

A completely worthless contribution. Thank you.

 

[Tully B.]

Hmmm, what I'm afraid of in the scenario of 16 year olds voting is their parents not just influencing who they vote for, but controlling who they vote for. Would it be possible to make sure that the parents have no way of knowing who their children voted for?

I can just imagine some of the girls in my year...
"I don't like the hair on that one, he's such a dag. Let's vote for the other one. What's his name? Turnbull? No, that's silly name; let's not vote for him."

 

[katie tully]

I'm extremely thankful that Australia's founding fathers had the foresight to make voting compulsory.

This way instead of only the extremists having a say in how the country is run, as in America, everyone does.

Did you know that in America, if you're convicted of a felony in some states, you lose the right to vote forever.

In 2000, Bush won the presidential election by 600 votes in Florida. 1300 people in Florida alone were unable to vote if they wanted to, because they had been convicted of a felony at some stage.

The only thing worse than making everyone vote and threatening them with fines if they don't is not allowing people to vote. I don't think people should be forced to vote, it goes against democracy - that is forcing someone to do something against their will, especially given how inconsequential the Australian voting system is.

Those who want to vote will, and those who don't want to vote won't turn up and draw a penis on the ballot.

And everyone arguing that 16 year olds don't know anything about politics, obviously you guys haven't had a chat with the average Australian adult.

 

[katie tully]

Hmmm, what I'm afraid of in the scenario of 16 year olds voting is their parents not just influencing who they vote for, but controlling who they vote for. Would it be possible to make sure that the parents have no way of knowing who their children voted for?

I can just imagine some of the girls in my year...
"I don't like the hair on that one, he's such a dag. Let's vote for the other one. What's his name? Turnbull? No, that's silly name; let's not vote for him."

I really don't think that's going to be the case re: second part.

I think you guys are severely underestimating the average 16 year old. If they know enough about politics to know the names of the political leaders, they know enough to vote. I think you will find that initially, a lot of peoples political views are shaped by their parents when they first start voting.

 

[katie tully]

Sure. Henry Parkes.

"The founding fathers" simply refers to the men and women who worked on making Australia a federation, drafting a constitution, laying an electoral framework (e.g. creation of the Senate, introduction of proportional and preferential electoral math), etc.

Smugness fail, jb_nc.

Edit: A less well known founding father would be Thomas Hare, who founded our proportional voting system.

Black people and women also weren't allowed to vote when the "founding fathers" came up with this crap, so one can hardly argue that they were fair and just in drafting whatever it was they drafted, idk.

 

[Tully B.]

In 2000, Bush won the presidential election by 600 votes in Florida. 1300 people in Florida alone were unable to vote if they wanted to, because they had been convicted of a felony at some stage.

Even funnier than that is the fact that many of the people who were assumed to be felons in Florida were in fact just people with a similar name or the same birth date as people who were felons. This was due to the fucked up system implemented by JEB Bush, brother of Bush the second and governor of Florida. The majority of those assumed to be felons were black, and about 90% of them would have voted Democrats. Gore won the election by more than Bush's mesely 600 votes, but I guess that's old news *sighs*.

 

[katie tully]

Even funnier than that is the fact that many of the people who were assumed to be felons in Florida were in fact just people with a similar name or the same birth date as people who were felons. This was due to the fucked up system implemented by JEB Bush, brother of Bush the second and governor of Florida. The majority of those assumed to be felons were black, and about 90% of them would have voted Democrats. Gore won the election by more than Bush's mesely 600 votes, but I guess that's old news *sighs*.

So yes this is my contention.

The only thing worse than making people vote is excluding people from the right to vote. It leads to far too big a margin of error and tbh I don't think a convicted felon is the worst of the worst of offenders, maybe if it's such an issue it can be restricted to those with life in prison/no parole/death penalty (in US)

 

[David Spade]

Actually i think you will find that K Rudd opposes this idea. Hack told me so or something