On the morning of November 9, 2016, more than half of America was devastated, struggling to understand how their conservative counterparts had elected Donald Trump the night before. Although many Republican voters wholeheartedly supported him, the Americans that handed him the election were those who did not vote twenty-four hours earlier. In 2016, this was more than 60 percent of the country.

After the election, numerous “blue wave” promises of sweeping Democratic wins filled the country, but less than 50 percent voted in the 2018 midterms. As a result, Democratic voters managed to tip the Senate only one seat in their favor, meaning that the Senate now stands 53-47 for the Republicans. 

Voting should be mandatory in the United States.

Voter participation is extremely low. According to Vitanna, out of 35 countries polled, the U.S. is 28th for voter turnout. States average around 50 percent for turnout. In Australia, enforced mandatory voting leaves rates above 90 percent. 

In a democracy where politicians must represent the interests of all their constituents, the small minority that votes controls leadership and policy decisions. Elected politicians are often able to ignore low-income, younger, and non-white voters who have more difficulty finding a polling place or registering to vote. As a result, our representatives do not reflect their interests. Mandatory voting allows the government to reflect the opinions of the majority, as they should in a democracy. In 2015, Barack Obama proposed compulsory voting for the U.S., arguing that “if everyone voted, then it would completely change the political map of this country.” 

America has a long history of denying voting rights to citizens based on their race, sex, religion, age, and health. When citizens do not vote, they are dismissing the legacy of those who committed or lost their lives to fight for this fundamental right. Dismissing the Constitution’s demand for equality, America prohibited African Americans and women from voting for almost two centuries. For more than one hundred years, women fought actively for their place in democracy until 1920, when Congress ratified the 19th Amendment. On March 7, 1965, six hundred soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement marched from Selma to Montgomery to continue their battle for voting rights, leaving 58 severely injured. 

Today, a combination of discrimination and violence prevents millions of American citizens from voting. Through gerrymandering, strict voter ID and registration requirements, and poll closures in certain precincts, voter suppression purged more than 17 million eligible voters between 2016 and 2018. According to Obama, people who do not tend to vote are young, lower-income, and belong to immigrant or minority groups. 

 Instead of overturning voter ID laws or implementing automatic registration—all of which are commendable ideas—America should aim for a simpler, holistic, and viable solution. 

Mandatory voting also reduces election costs. In the U.S., costs range from $40 to $130 for each voter. According to “The Economist,” American elections are expensive because reaching a population of 314 million requires a significant cost. In Australia, costs for major elections are $15 per voter. If the law requires everyone to vote, doing so would be much more convenient. Voters could mail in their ballots, which eliminates the need for judges, vote counters, and a voting space. With mandatory voting, candidates, parties, and outside groups would not have to devote their resources to turn out voters. 

Some argue that the impact of one vote is so small that there is no reason for them to cast a ballot. Living in a democracy means voting is not individual, and each vote carries its own distinct and important weight as part of this democratic nation. One individual voter does not have a significant chance of deciding an election, but a large group of individual voters does. 

Others argue that mandatory voting brings a huge responsibility to a swarm of uneducated, clueless voters. With traps like clickbait and Facebook, uninformed Americans could be easily susceptible to fake news about candidates and politics. Each individual voter has the responsibility to stay informed about each election, and mandatory voting will urge citizens to educate themselves on the issues so they know for whom and for what they are voting when they cast a ballot. 

If you did not vote in 2016 or 2018, you have no right to complain about the administration’s handling of women’s rights and immigration, about Trump’s economic policies or how he chooses to spend his presidency. Do not complain that one party doesn’t hear you—by refusing to cast your vote, you’re refusing to let them.