"Should voting be made mandatory in Canada?"
Many people would have different opinions on this topic. In this beautiful country, we are extremely fortunate to have freedom and rights that many other countries do not. The freedom of speech, freedom of religion...these are just a few of the rights we have as Canadians. We also have the right to opinion and the right to vote. All Canadian rights and such are listed on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Many Canadians feel very strongly about our rights, and believe we should always take advantage of them while we can.
However, many Canadians don't vote for a political party during voting time in Canada. This applies to both national and provincial voting. Some people simply choose not to. This can be caused by a large variety of reasons. Some may be underage, 18 years or younger, and therefore, unable to legally vote. Some may be indecisive about which party to vote for. Or others simply may not like what changes the party has to offer to the citizens.
In the opinion of many people, our rights as Canadians should not be neglected. Meaning that voting for a political party should be an action that is mandatory, and everyone who is of legal voting age should do so. However, many Canadians simply do not. Canada is a country of many freedoms. Should the citizens also have the freedom to not vote? Or should it be against the law? Punishable by fees? There could be positive and negative sides to this. Making voting law in Canada ensures everyone does vote. There will be more votes submitted and the results will be seemingly "more accurate". However, when one thinks about it, making voting mandatory by law can also anger many people who'd rather not vote, and political leaders would find themselves receiving a lot of random or illegitimate votes, from people who didn't want to vote, or didn't know who to pick and chose blindly. This would affect the results of the voting, and would leave an inaccurate reflection of what the citizens actually want out of their government.
With all this in mind, most would agree; leaving voting optional would be the best option. This ensures that everyone is happy, that no one will feel obligated or pressured to vote, and that the citizens will get the government they deserve.
I really enjoyed your essay, it was very informative and well-written. Your points were strong and you showed good and bad points for both sides of the argument which was good, it kept you at a bit more of a neutral ground. There was one fact in your essay that was inncorrect, you said that people who are not legally allowed to vote are eighteen years old or younger, when in reality, a Canadian who is eighteen years old is legally allowed to vote so you have to be a bit more careful with making sure all of your facts are correct, it was a small mistake and mostly unnoticable so don't worry about it, just try to be a bit more cautious in the future. Other than that, it was a really great essay. Good work!
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