On February 7, the Washington State Senate Committee on State Government and Elections passed SB 5209 by 4-3. It makes voting mandatory. Here is the text. It is sponsored by 14 Democratic State Senators: Sam Hunt, Andy Bilig, Lisa Wellman, Bob Hasegawa, Lisa Lovelett, Rebecca Saldana, Mark Liias, Steve Conway, Manka Dhingra, Karen Keiser, Patty Kuderer, Joe Nguyen, Javiere Valdez, and Claire Wilson.
It is ironic that a bill for mandatory voting is making headway in the state with one of the least choices on general election ballots. Washington uses a top-two system, so that there are never more than two candidate on the general election ballot for congress or any partisan state office. No minor party candidate has ever managed to qualify for the November ballot for one of those offices if both major parties had a member who filed in the primary for that same office.
Furthermore, Washington has the most restrictive definition of a qualified party in any state in the western half of the
United States. It is the only state in the western half of the nation in which only the Democratic and Republican Parties have been qualified during the last twenty years. The definition of a qualified party in Washington is one that polled 5% for president in the last general election.
I favor mandatory voting for me.
“It is ironic that a bill for mandatory voting is making headway in the state with one of the least choices on general election ballots. Washington uses a top-two system, so that there are never more than two candidate on the general election ballot for congress or any partisan state office”
Not so ironic, IMO. With fewer choices, fewer voters are interested. SO, they must be compelled to vote for the crummy candidates that top 2 produces.
It would be really sadistic if they don’t allow write-ins.
Not a surprise communists would sponsor this.
They do allow write-ins, but they won’t count them unless the vote-counting equipment suggests a write-in candidate might have won.
Do you know how easy it would be for the Democrats to rig elections? This is what they want.
I rig my erection all the time. I have a VD.
The North Korea way, after all. These people truly are hardcore tankie Marxists. This is not hyperbole.
This is disgusting.
ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymanders in ALL 50 States.
1/2 or less votes x 1/2 rigged cracked/packed gerrymander areas =. 1/4 OR less CONTROL = OLIGARCHY WITH MONARCH BOSSES.
SUPER WORSE PRIMARY MATH.
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NOOO PRIMARIES.
PR IN ALL LEGIS BODIES.
https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/research/2022-general-election.aspx
NOTE THE AGE – RETURN BALLOT STATS
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FORCED VOTING = MORE YOUNG COMMIE VOTES ??? DUH.
SO- ROTTED WA IN WEST AND ROTTED GA IN EAST FOR BALLOT ACCESS ???
There is no penalty for not voting, and a voter may sign a waiver excusing them from voting.
It appears to be an excuse to do a mass mailout to register voters. You can not have mandatory voting without mandatory registration. Instead of declining to be registered, a voter would have to decline to vote.
It would be better to have mandatory election clerk and teller duty and have in person voting on election day. The bill suggests that voting is akin to serving on a jury, registering for the draft, or paying taxes, but there are penalties for failure to do those. Serving as an election clerk or teller is similar to serving on a jury.
The bill would require mandatory voting in primaries which have the most liberal party qualification.
Washington should get rid of their rotten system of filling vacancies, and permit elector candidates qualify the same as any other candidate, including self declaration of party preference.
Will six Justices of the US Supreme Court agree with compulsory voting even with a compulsory waiver? A waiver from what, compulsory voter registration? This present court might agree.
Interesting the desire to make voting a form of taxation by forced labor. Fascism.
How do they plan on making voting mandatory? Is the National Guard lining up at people’s houses with guns? Are they going to sextuple the caseload of all county prosecutors that post-election are going to place charges on these people?
This is an open-and-shut Supreme Court constitutional decision. But I wonder if they see voting swing R, the law would be overturned by the next session of the state legislature.
SEPARATE CATCH-ALL CRIMINAL SECTION FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS [NOT IN THE BILL] —
GENERALLY A MISDEMEANOR ???
My name is AZ and I have a tiny male member.
I’ve submitted to remove my voter registration in Washington state. The United States is a free country. With Freedom comes responsibility. That Responsibility is to vote.
When you turn my responsibilities into requirements, I’m going to remove myself from the system and no longer participate.
I will not file for an exemption.
I will not submit an empty ballot.
I will not vote.
I’m done.
https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/vr_cancellation_form_en.pdf
Ted is right!
Mandatory voting sounds like North Korea, especially with the general lack of choices among candidates on general election ballots in Washington.
This should be ruled unconstitutional if it passes.
Exactly.
I “Unregistered” to vote this last year because of this proposed law. I voted every election. But when they turn my responsibility into a requirement, that’s when I stop playing in their game. I unregistered specifically so that I don’t have to “opt out” as the law allows because I don’t believe I should be compelled to take action to preserve freedoms that should be default.
This is the most anti-freedom appalling piece of legislation I’ve seen.
PS: I’ve repeatedly reached out to my representatives (both Democratic AND Republican) and neither saw fit to even acknowledge my correspondence. Which makes sense…O ca ‘t vote for them now anyway. However, I think they forget, while elected be a majority of the people, they serve to represent ALL the people.