Madmallard
.223 Rem
A state lawmaker from Manhattan wants to make it costly for New Yorkers not to vote.
Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a Democrat, introduced legislation this week that would establish “compulsory voting” in the state and punish those who don’t vote with a $10 fine.
“Mandatory voting would drastically increase civic participation and transform the political arena by making politicians more reflective of the constituents that elected them,” Glick wrote in a memo submitted with the bill.
Under Glick’s bill, any eligible voter who fails to vote would be hit with the $10 fine unless they have a “valid excuse” why they couldn’t do so. The legislation does not specify what constitutes a valid excuse.
Any fines collected would be used to improve the electoral process, the memo stated.
Glick’s bill drew prompt scorn from Senate Elections Committee Chairman Fred Akshar (R-Binghamton), who gave it little chance of ever being enacted.
“Last time I checked, this was the United States of America and people have the right to vote or not to vote,” Akshar said.
New Yorkers who don’t vote would pay $10 under proposed bill
Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a Democrat, introduced legislation this week that would establish “compulsory voting” in the state and punish those who don’t vote with a $10 fine.
“Mandatory voting would drastically increase civic participation and transform the political arena by making politicians more reflective of the constituents that elected them,” Glick wrote in a memo submitted with the bill.
Under Glick’s bill, any eligible voter who fails to vote would be hit with the $10 fine unless they have a “valid excuse” why they couldn’t do so. The legislation does not specify what constitutes a valid excuse.
Any fines collected would be used to improve the electoral process, the memo stated.
Glick’s bill drew prompt scorn from Senate Elections Committee Chairman Fred Akshar (R-Binghamton), who gave it little chance of ever being enacted.
“Last time I checked, this was the United States of America and people have the right to vote or not to vote,” Akshar said.
New Yorkers who don’t vote would pay $10 under proposed bill