Proposed as the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution . . .
It is the duty and obligation of every eligible voter to cast their ballot in any and all elections applying to their voting district.
I’m open to rephrasing and arguments on interpretation, but I think it’s high time we as a Nation affirm a core belief, that Democracy is a truly participatory form of government and that, as a consequence, it is inexcusable that any eligible voting American forsake such a simple task as casting a ballot.
This is something I’ve shared over the past few years with quite a few people . . and not a single one of them has objected. In principle, I believe this Amendment would be best passed in a manner similar to a non-binding resolution in that there is no individual measure — or necessarily any individual penalty — to an individual not actually voting.
In effect, it’s a proposed Amendment that actually (or technically) does nothing but affirm a Belief, which in part is what I believe would make such an Amendment a powerful force in improving the nature and quality of our Democracy. It’s not enforced — It’s socially expected.
For those looking for additional argument, a Voting Requirement Amendment would, as a consequence, likely call upon the Federal Government and each of the States to investigate, design, and deploy measures to make voting even easier, more secure, and more reliable (by simple virtue of the fact so many more people are voting). It would ‘raise the bar’ as a direct effect of a cumulatively larger voting population, and the resulting improvements would be a direct benefit to every voter.
