(#5045) Voting should be mandatory with incentives for voting and penalties for not voting!

      Of the 20 million eligible voters here in California only about 10 million turned out to vote in the November 8th election. It was a midterm election so no president choice to make but the many other offices on the ballot here were crucial in an attempt to keep the majority in the House of Representatives under democratic control. As the margin that republicans appear to have won is clear now the turning of a few more seats back into democratic control would have made this outcome of republican control much less certain. New York also had a hand in not doing what it could have to secure a democratic majority but we here in California surely dropped the ball a bit too much for me.
     Why we democrats fail at the most simple way to protect our democracy is astounding to me. About 10 million here didn't bother to vote when voting in California is simple and easy to do. Besides the ease of voting the critical matter of protecting our democracy didn't seem to be enough motivation for those 10 million to even expend the little energy needed to vote. I am at a crossroads here trying to figure out what it is that makes us specifically here in California and folks in other states so disengaged from participating in our own welfare? Are we so disillusioned by it all or are we so indifferent to the lies and falsehoods republicans spew daily that we just don't care?
     To me it speaks of a disorder of priorities. When the very existence of our species under democratic rule is being threatened and that isn't enough to motivate most all of us to vote then what else will do it? I don't know except maybe paying our citizenry to vote and penalizing them if the don't vote. Something has to change to make sure all eligible voters vote. Under capitalism which seems to be the motivation for everything else it would be logical to make incentives and penalties for the act of voting/not voting. We don't seem to be able to appeal to our nobler instincts of patriotism to democracy as a solution so why not give the carrot and stick a try. Regardless of how one votes, voting should be mandatory!