{"id":1870746,"date":"2023-03-07T15:57:08","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T20:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-connecticut-and-washington-democrats-get-their-way-voting-will-become-mandatory\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07T16:05:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T21:05:41","slug":"if-connecticut-and-washington-democrats-get-their-way-voting-will-become-mandatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-connecticut-and-washington-democrats-get-their-way-voting-will-become-mandatory\/","title":{"rendered":"If Connecticut And Washington Democrats Get Their Way, Voting Will Become Mandatory"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fif-connecticut-and-washington-democrats-get-their-way-voting-will-become-mandatory%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1870746&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Washington Democrats, Connecticut and Washington have both introduced bills that would make compulsory voting mandatory for eligible voters.<\/p>\n<p>Monday&#8217;s testimony was heard by a Connecticut House committee. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cga.ct.gov\/asp\/cgabillstatus\/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&#038;bill_num=HB5704&#038;which_year=2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HB 5704<\/a>. This bill could be passed and made law if it is signed by the legislature. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cga.ct.gov\/2023\/TOB\/H\/PDF\/2023HB-05704-R00-HB.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">require<\/a> All &#8220;qualified elector[s]&#8221; You can find more information here &#8220;either cast a ballot at an election or provide a valid reason&#8221; You should not do so. <\/p>\n<p>In the event that an eligible voter decided not to vote, they would send him back. &#8220;a form&#8221; From the state &#8220;inquiring as to why [he] did not so cast a ballot.&#8221; A fine would be imposed on an elector who does not send in the return form explaining why they did not vote.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Josh Elliot (Democrat) was the bill sponsor. He claimed that these fines were a &#8216;fair and reasonable punishment. &#8220;nominal fee&#8221; Such as &#8220;five, 10, 15, 20 bucks,&#8221; The penalties are not listed in the HB5704 as a maximum or minimum amount.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you say, \u2018We want universal voting&#8217; and then there&#8217;s no punishment at all, you aren&#8217;t really saying anything,&#8221; Elliot <a href=\"https:\/\/ctnewsjunkie.com\/2023\/03\/06\/lawmakers-hear-arguments-for-mandatory-voting\/%5C\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> In an effort to justify the fines.<\/p>\n<p>Connecticut citizens were skeptical of the claims that this proposal would increase civic engagement. A <a href=\"https:\/\/ctnewsjunkie.com\/2023\/03\/06\/lawmakers-hear-arguments-for-mandatory-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">local news outlet<\/a>The number of citizens who have written opposition to the legislation &#8220;overwhelmingly outweighed&#8221; Supporters of the bill have provided testimony.<\/p>\n<p>This measures &#8220;will compel voting by people who don&#8217;t care or don&#8217;t know about the issues or candidates, thus influencing the outcome,&#8221; Manuel Santos is a Connecticut resident. &#8220;Voting as an uninformed citizen is just as bad, perhaps worse, than not voting at all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/commentary\/mandatory-voting-guarantees-ignorant-votes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cato Institute<\/a>In the end, mandatory voting has repeatedly led to issues like this &#8220;donkey vote.&#8221; This is when voters randomly choose a candidate or party to represent them. This could lead to voters being poorly informed in determining key races. You should consider it a very bad idea. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/roomfordebate\/2011\/11\/07\/should-voting-in-the-us-be-mandatory-14\/mandatory-voting-would-be-a-disaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The New York Times<\/a> It was called a &#8220;disaster.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Connecticut Democrats don&#8217;t stand alone in their support for this policy. Washington senator Democrats have already introduced this policy. <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary?BillNumber=5209&#038;Chamber=Senate&#038;Year=2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 5209<\/a>This is a proposal to enforce mandatory voting in accordance with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov\/biennium\/2023-24\/Pdf\/Bills\/Senate%20Bills\/5209.pdf?q=20230307102530\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guise<\/a> This is &#8220;universal civic duty voting.&#8221; However, unlike the Connecticut bill SB 5209 does not penalize voters who do not cast a vote in general and primary elections.<\/p>\n<p>As he tried to explain such a law to the Senate in January, Sen. Sam Hunt, Democrat and sponsor of the bill, went so far as to use compulsory voting to contrast it to &#8220;paying taxes&#8221; Signing for men is a requirement &#8220;up for the draft.&#8221; It&#8217;s &#8220;just another civic duty that we would require people to do,&#8221; He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opb.org\/article\/2023\/01\/29\/washington-democrats-mandatory-voting-election-proposal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hunt&#8217;s Republican colleague and Senator Jeff Wilson took a different approach, calling the bill an &#8220;unconstitutional&#8221;  &#8220;un-American distraction.&#8221; Wilson noted in his remarks that such a law might be modified to provide punishments for violating the law.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Of course, you have the right to speak, you have the right to vote, but you also have the same right to not,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;There&#8217;s no consequence now, but what would keep it from having a consequence later? That&#8217;s something to be very concerned about.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Senate Rules Committee is currently considering the Washington bill. The Connecticut House Government Administration and Elections Committee is currently considering the Washington bill.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p> Shawn Fleetwood, a staff writer for The Federalist, is also a University of Mary Washington graduate. Additionally, he is a content writer for Convention of States Action. His work has been published in several outlets such as RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him at Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>&#8220;From <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/07\/if-connecticut-and-washington-democrats-get-their-way-voting-will-become-mandatory\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=if-connecticut-and-washington-democrats-get-their-way-voting-will-become-mandatory\">If Connecticut And Washington Democrats Get Their Way, Voting Will Become Mandatory<\/a>&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11px\"><em>&#8220;The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author of the article and not necessarily shared or endorsed by Conservative News Daily&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington Democrats, Connecticut and Washington have both introduced bills that would make compulsory voting mandatory for eligible voters. Monday&#8217;s testimony was heard by a Connecticut House committee. HB 5704. This bill could be passed and made law if it is signed by the legislature. require All &#8220;qualified elector[s]&#8221; You can find more information here &#8220;either &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":1898047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[9991,3685,3986,4351,4086,10075],"class_list":["post-1870746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-connecticut","tag-democrats","tag-mandatory","tag-voting","tag-washington","tag-way"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}