The right (not) to vote

Bob CollinsBob Collins Oct 16, 2008
2

Should you be publicly shamed if you don’t vote?

A Nashville newspaper is publishing the names of people who didn’t vote in the 2004 presidential election.

“We have people over here who won’t go out and vote,” said Rosetta Miller-Perry, president and publisher of the Tennessee Tribune. “It’s ridiculous. It really hurts.”

But voting isn’t a requirement and when the Constitution granted the right of people to vote, it also granted them the right not to vote.

Still, the idea achieved the results Miller-Perry wanted when it was tried in a 2006 Senate race. Turnout almost doubled.

If you have any friends in Nashville, you might be interested in seeing if they’re on the list.

(h/t: David Brauer via Twitter)