In a democracy, voting ought to be compulsory.

Compulsory voting is bad, not good, and I will now present my reasons why. 1. Compulsory voting reduces the quality of the election results. http://www.nytimes.com... In this New York Times article, Jason Brennan, an expert on philosophy, public policy, and ethics points out what is likely the greatest issue with compulsory voting. It actually harms the legitimacy of an electoral outcome, as opposed to helping it. As it is, many voters head to the polls with far less knowledge of the candidates and issues in the election than they should. A vote is the most important tool that most people have to shape their country with, in order to bring about the changes they would like to see. It is not a decision that should be taken lightly, and without the necessary information, votes are cast in a way that can have dangerous effects for the entire population. Votes are cast far too often without the voter having the adequate knowledge, and this hurts everyone. The best way to increase the legitimacy of an election is to have better informed voters, not simply more of them. Most eligible voters who choose not to vote do so due to a lack of interest or information, and if these people are forced to cast their votes, many will go to the polls without being well-informed. There is no cure for apathy, so forcing those who do not care about the election undermines the validity of the overall result. It is the responsibility of voters to make their decision based on a fair assessment of the candidates and their positions, as well as the positive and negative affects of the policy goals they will strive to achieve. If this level of knowledge is not present in many voters now, how will it help to increase the number of uninformed voters that take part in elections by mandating that all eligible voters vote? This will reduce the quality of elections and could have dangerous if not drastic consequences for all. 2. Compulsory Voting Infringes upon the rights of voters. http://www.bostonglobe.com... In a democracy, voting is a right that people should not be forced to exercise. A democracy should provide each citizen with this right, but to force anyone to use it contrasts the democratic concept. All citizens should have the right to choose how they would like to vote, and this includes not voting at all. Voting should be highly encouraged but that does not mean that it should be mandated. If compulsory voting were enacted in the US, it is quite clear that it would be unconstitutional. The United States Constitution refers to "the right to vote" a total of five times. Not the duty to vote but the right. http://www.rethinkingbelgium.eu... In addition to the right to vote, compulsory voting can be seen as infringing upon the freedom of speech. A vote is a way for many to make a statement about their views, and this statement is protected by the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech also includes the freedom not to speak, and therefore, not to vote. If people are forced to express their political views, then they lose the right to remain silent. Lastly, polarization in the US, where it is about as bad as you will find, is not caused by the over-representation of partisan believers in general elections, but by the over-representation of the extremes in primary elections that drives parties away from the middle, the biases of the mainstream media, gerrymandered house districts, and by the electoral system that allows candidates to cater to the undecided voters in only a few states, as opposed to the whole nation. Compulsory voting in the US would not change polarization due to the remainder of the factors that I just listed. In addition to this, minorities, millennials, and the poor are most likely not to vote. These three groups are not known to be moderate/independent voters. Compulsory voting in the United States would likely favor democrats because of the higher representation of these groups while doing very little to decrease the polarization in American politics.