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There’s one thing to have low voter turn out… and it’s another thing when there’s practically NO voter turnout. So what’s a Democracy to do?
[Israel] Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit says he is concerned that low voter turnout rates in Tuesday’s municipal elections will prompt distorted results.
“When people do not come out and vote, they make other elements, which they do not want, gain strength,” the minister said, about an hour and a half before polling stations were scheduled to close.
At the time, the turnout rate in Jerusalem stood at 36%, compared to 30% in Tel Aviv and 33% in Haifa
[...]
“We are far off our objective,” Sheetrit said. “This is simply a case of irresponsibility when people fail to fulfill their duty to vote…I have seen declining turnout rates over the years. This is dangerous indifference, and perhaps the time has come to consider sanctions against those who fail to vote. We need to think about fining those who do not vote.”
It’s true that when people don’t vote, the Democratic process is completely distorted. But wouldn’t punishing people for not voting sort of defeat the whole purpose of “Democratic freedom”?
[source: Ynet]
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