The Washington state legislature currently has a mandatory voting proposal (S.B. 5209) under consideration, which would require registered voters to return ballots in each election. However, proponents try to soften the coerciveness of the proposal (which makes it very questionable in light of the First and Fourteenth Amendments) by saying it would allow citizens to opt out by filing a form with election officials or by not registering to vote. But in that case, they could not vote even if they decided they wanted to, which means it would not be long before the first voter suppression claims arise. People could also return a blank ballot to vote (which would “meet their civic duty,” according to the lead sponsor, Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia), suggesting a very warped idea of civic duty). Further, there are no penalties for non-compliance, though one must wonder if the word “yet” should be appended to that claim.
