In some countries, voting in the national elections is mandatory but, in the U.S.

, there are no laws

forcing people to vote. Discuss why voting should or should not be mandatory.

Voting is a huge responsibility bestowed upon every adult citizen in around 20 countries. To most

people, the ability to vote is an expression of freedom and control. The sad reality is that not every citizen

is educated enough to make such an important decision. Even ancient philosophers, like Socrates, were

against the idea of citizens having the freedom to vote if the society had no political education

whatsoever. A decade ago, voting was compulsory in more than 20 countries, but most of them have now

repealed it. Clearly, state officials are better at making political decisions. Therefore, voting should not be

mandatory because of the inability of citizens to make informed political decisions and it should be left in

the hands of more experienced people.

States that don’t enforce political education require their citizens to make uninformed decisions. In

John F. Kennedy’s words, “the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all”. This

ignorance is often used by cunning politicians against the people. They manipulate the society into

making a decision that will only profit them, therefore impairing the security of all. A democratic country

can easily turn into a tyranny this way. It was the politically uneducated population of Chile who voted

for Salvador Allende. Choosing a Marxist president was a novelty in liberal Chile. Allende was

responsible for a manipulative military coup that put many Chileans under danger and forced them to

stand by him as he brought the country into chaos. Not only is this a good representation of how

important political education is, it also shows that when people are forced to do something they’re not

equipped for, things go south.

Sometimes people’s opinions are considered, but shots are called by the chosen politically

experienced people. Take U.S. for example. Voting is voluntary, people still register their voice but when

it comes to making extremely important decisions, such as electing the president, the Electoral College

holds the higher power. The College itself consists of representatives chosen by the people, so their voice

is not completely lost or ignored. When Trump won the presidential elections, almost half of the U.S.
population were against him. But their opposition was not a politically informed type of hate, they mostly

acted from a social standpoint. However, the Electoral College knew that choosing between the bad and

the worse was their call. So, they chose the bad and saved the country from completely going downhill.

Had U.S. made voting mandatory, more people would’ve most likely voted for one of the other

candidates, and that decision would be made unconsciously. Maybe someone worse would be elected by

the impulsive, politically uneducated society.

It is true that every citizen is entitled to having their own say in how things are in their country. This

is why some people suggest that every citizen, even the ones who’ve been abroad for a decade and come

back, ignorant of the political situation in the country, must vote. However, circling a name on a ballot is

not art, or some type of child’s play. It is a road to a very important decision that must be made with

much thought. Having just anyone vote is like holding elections at a kindergarten and hoping that the

children will circle the right name. Elections are not about getting lucky. They’re about accuracy. When

they’re not mandatory, only those who think are able to make a coherent decision, will make that decision

and the country’s future will be granted success.

To sum up, voting should not be mandatory because being able to make the right decision is not the

luxury that every citizen has. If we want a country where everyone is equally knowledgeable about

politics, then it’s up to our governments to enforce political education. We can’t simply expect a child to

start speaking with grammatically correct sentences if we only teach him a chunk of unrelated words.

Voting should first become a long-term cultivated skill, and then it can become mandatory.