On Thu, Jun 10, 1999 at 02:36:00AM -0500, Steve Greenland wrote: > On 10-Jun-99, 00:25 (CDT), Sven LUTHER <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Hey, you now they are some countries where you are fined if > > you don't show to vote, i think they believe that voting is an > > obligation not a right.
it's seen as a duty AND a right. > As a totally off-topic point, I completely disagree with that concept. as a completely off-topic response, that concept has been proven to create a more representative democracy than optional voting. in countries where disenfranchised and marginalised people aren't required to vote (or had the theoretical "right" to vote but none ever dared to register for voting for fear they'd be lynched), they generally DO NOT vote because they KNOW that there is no point. in countries where voting is compulsary, they generally do get off their arses to vote...even if (to look at it in a very cynical light) they just vote for their side as if politics is some game of football where you have to show loyalty to your team. because they do vote, they are a demographic which politicians have to take into account - they may be apathetic and indifferent, but they can get pissed off and there are enough of them to win/lose an election. yeah, it pisses me off during some elections that i have to vote...that i have to choose from amongst a pack of bastards i'd much rather see strung up with their own intestines. however: a) i'm glad i live in a country where voting is compulsary - i think it's one of the reasons australian politics is saner and more moderate than US politics, and b) if i really don't want to vote for any of them, i can just enter an informal (i.e. invalid) vote. voting is still anonymous - the only thing that matters is that i have had my name ticked off on the roll at a voting booth. of course, this isn't particularly relevant to debian because membership in debian is not compulsory - it's a voluntary association. craig -- craig sanders
