There is a new buzz about the interesting concept of mandatory voting coming out of the University of Kentucky. According to a really interesting article by Miranda Combs from WKYT radio:

A University of Kentucky law professor is suggesting mandatory voting may be the change necessary to improve voter turnout. In presidential elections, usually 60 percent of the population votes. In midterm elections 30 to 40 percent vote. In local elections, at least in Kentucky in 2015, turn-out was 30 to 31 percent.

University of Kentucky law professor Josh Douglas wrote a book called “Vote For Us” to discuss how to change the future of voting, and he points to the current turnout as a reason why change is needed.

“I think that’s horrible,” Douglas said when looking at Kentucky’s turnout. “I think that it is a stain in our democracy to have such a low turnout and our elected officials be elected by only 30 percent of the people showing up and being decided by roughly 16 percent of the electorate.”

Douglas calls mandatory voting the easy way to ensure better participation.

See the full story here.