Mandatory Voting Laws

Mandatory Voting Laws

SAMPLE OUTLINE: Persuasive (motivational) –Presentation/Keyword

Mandatory Voting Laws

I. INTRODUCTION

  1. (Attention Statement) Have you or someone you know ever said,

“What’s the point of voting, my one vote’s not going to make a difference?” According to John Dean, a former counsel to the president,In our last presidential election approximately 85% of the registered voters and only 60% of eligible voters showed up at the polls. This means that a whopping 75 million votes went unheard. Meanwhile, the margin of victory was a mere 3 million.

  1. (Thesis) Today, I will explain why voting is a responsibility of citizenship and why we should adopt mandatory voting laws.
  1. (Significance to Audience) Poor voter turnouts have caused unequal representation with “special interest” groups carrying the vote.
  1. (Credibility Statement) Since I fall into an underrepresented

demographic, I feel much concern forthis topic, and I’ve researched it extensively over a period of time.

E. (Preview of Main Points) I am going to tell you more about the

negative effects of our country’slow voter participation. Then, I’ll explain the benefits of a mandatory voting process, and finally what you can do to correct this problem.

[Transition] But first, we need to better understand the significance of voter turnout.

II. BODY

  1. (Main Point 1) The Problem

1.Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of theIndependence, "Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

2.Our 60% voter turnout ranks 139th out of 172 countries.

3.We are ranked mostly among third world nations.

4.Reasons why people might not vote.

a.young and/or poor

b.Education, income levels, and age

c.failure to register

d.negative campaign advertising as “trun-oof”

e.lack of self-interest.

5.Low voter turnout means certain groups not represented.

6.Political parties focus on groups with highest turnout.

7.Elderly historically highest & young historically lowest

a.According to the Census Bureau, in 2004, the 18-24 age bracket was the lowest at 47% and those between 55-74 were the highest at a 73% turnout rate.

8.This means educational financial aid cut before Medicare

9.Government deserves some blame

[Transition]It’s time to consider reasonable ideas for correcting the problem

  1. (Main Point 2) The Solution

1.Voting laws need to be legislated in this country.

a.mandatory voting

b.enforcement

2.Australia as precedent

a.introduced mandatory voting in 1924, after voter turnout went down to 58% in 1922. Not far off from our current 60% mark.

3.Australiahas 95% turnout of registered voters

a.Failure to vote

  1. $15 and $37 fine
  2. may face a brief prison sentence.

4.Improve the registration process.

a.Europe, government contacts the public by mail

b.registration could be permitted until Election Day

5.Voting is an obligation of a citizenship

a.military drafts

b.tax collection

c.vehicle registrations

d.jury duty.

[Transition] We all need to improve political participation in order to accurately express a true majority vote. But we don’t have to wait for legislation to make an impact.

  1. (Main Point 3) Call to Action

1.Get more involved.

2.Find out more about politics.

3.Newspaper and the Internet

4.Attending local city council meetings

a.PoconoTownship meets 1st & 3rdMondays at 7 pm

5.Follow as many elections as possible and cast your vote.

III. CONCLUSION

  1. (Review of Main Points) Now you can better understand how our nation’s voter turnout is really disappointing and how it creates problems in our political process. Also, you can see how mandating and enforcing voting is necessary for improving our input in political decisions. Until we adopt voting regulations, you already know some ways to begin contributing.
  1. (Re-state Thesis or Significance) If we strive for a true majority vote, we can have a major impact on politicians’ attitudes towards our demographic.

C. (Residual Message) So next time someone says their one vote won’t

matter, you can tell them how only 4 million of the available 75 million votes in the last election could have changed millions of lives.

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