If the government forces you to do something they only succeed because they have the power to take away your freedom (prison) or your property (fines).
Forcing someone to register to vote and forcing them to vote are two entirely different things. You can force people to vote just as you force men to register for the selective service. The threat of going to jail is a big incentive toward compliance. We would have to authorize this to become a police state to enforce it, however, as violation of the law would require punishment of likely hundreds of thousands of people if not more who would not register as an act of protest.
Then comes the issue of forcing people to vote. A vote is a selection between two or more different ideas and values. The state, under the Constitution, doesn't have the authority to force anyone to endorse an idea that they might oppose. It can't control our thoughts. A vote is an endorsement. It is a violation of the freedom of speech for the government to tell me who I have to vote for or if I have to vote for anyone at all. There are countries in the world where the state does this but they are the the darkest of places with the smallest amount of freedom.
Such a violation of my freedom would be intolerable.
If you are tired of people complaining now, wait until you hear the complaining when someone is forced, under threat of prison to choose between two people whose ideas they hate. The government will discover very quickly why the right to keep and bear arms was put into the Constitution by the founding fathers. It was so that if the government every became tyrannical the people would have the power to overthrow it by force of arms.
Any government which tells me that I need to choose one of two people or I lose my freedom or my property (if a fine is levied instead of jail time) demands to be overthrown.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-02-07 03:55 am (UTC)Forcing someone to register to vote and forcing them to vote are two entirely different things. You can force people to vote just as you force men to register for the selective service. The threat of going to jail is a big incentive toward compliance. We would have to authorize this to become a police state to enforce it, however, as violation of the law would require punishment of likely hundreds of thousands of people if not more who would not register as an act of protest.
Then comes the issue of forcing people to vote. A vote is a selection between two or more different ideas and values. The state, under the Constitution, doesn't have the authority to force anyone to endorse an idea that they might oppose. It can't control our thoughts. A vote is an endorsement. It is a violation of the freedom of speech for the government to tell me who I have to vote for or if I have to vote for anyone at all. There are countries in the world where the state does this but they are the the darkest of places with the smallest amount of freedom.
Such a violation of my freedom would be intolerable.
If you are tired of people complaining now, wait until you hear the complaining when someone is forced, under threat of prison to choose between two people whose ideas they hate. The government will discover very quickly why the right to keep and bear arms was put into the Constitution by the founding fathers. It was so that if the government every became tyrannical the people would have the power to overthrow it by force of arms.
Any government which tells me that I need to choose one of two people or I lose my freedom or my property (if a fine is levied instead of jail time) demands to be overthrown.