Yesterday was Election Day and many exit polls reported historically low voter turnout. This follows a trend of low-voter turnout in recent elections. In 2014, for instance, voter turnout was the lowest since World War Two.
In the video below, Georgetown economist Jason Brennan explores whether citizens should be forced to vote in order to reverse this trend. This is the norm in countries such as Australia, Belgium, and Singapore.
Brennan argues that low voter turnout is not necessarily a problem because most of those who don’t vote are not informed enough to make good decisions about public policy. And those who do vote tend to vote in the nation’s best interest. In other words, rumors of death from not voting have been greatly exaggerated.