Speaking in Cleveland on Wednesday, President Obama suggested that perhaps voting should be compulsory:
"In Australia and some other countries, there's mandatory voting. It would be transformative if everybody voted — that would counteract money more than anything. If everybody voted, it would completely change the political map in this country. Because the people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily towards immigrant groups and minority groups... So that may end up being a better strategy in the short term." [CNN]
Of course, Obama's casual proposal did not specify how mandatory voting would be enforced — or what the consequences might be for those who failed or refused to vote. He also neglected to mention that his 2012 victory came after spending more money than any other presidential campaign in history.
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