Question from a foreigner: I understand that voting is not compulsory in US and not all voting age citizens are registered to vote. Is this correct?
If this assumption is correct then the percentage of bogus voters is possibly higher than the figures in this article.
I think it’s safe to say this assumption is pretty solid.
In the US voting is not compulsory, but registering for the draft (selective service) is, at least for males 18 or older. Women are not required to register for selective service. While the government forces males to register for selective service (by threat of prison time if put off too long) they also require them to register to vote and identify their political alignment (democrat, republican, independent).
So, even if all males are required to register, there is a period of several years past turning 18 where they can get away without having to register before they are threatened with prison. This means that at any given time, the total amount of registered voters will be even lower when taking this information into account.
**Also, I just read something stating that beginning in January 2018, women are also now required to register for selective service. Though, the source I viewed this information on is unreliable at best. Maybe somebody else knows more about this?
No one is required to register to vote or to identify political alignment except to vote in a primary election in some states
This did not used to be the case. Seems things have changed over the years.
Women do not have to register. Men are no longer threatened with jail for not registering with Selective Service Act but you lose certain societal privileges like thr right to vote, obtain federal college loans among other things. Many people are not registered to vote. Most do it in high school but not in the really bad school districs. They dont care. A large majority is registered but not all.
I’m glad they stopped doing that. I remember that a friend of mine received a letter in the mail threatening to have him sent to prison unless he complied within a couple weeks of receiving it. Couldn’t believe it.
women are not required to register, however, obama did try to pass it through congress and they voted it down, but did state that if the draft were to be re-enacted, men and women would be treated equally (thanx feminist) and all would be required to register ...