Introduction

Luke Sharrett for The New York Times

In a Times Op-Ed this Sunday, William A. Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, argued to make voting compulsory. The next day, Andrew Rosenthal, The Times editorial page editor, questioned the constitutionality of such a requirement, but also lamented the "lengths to which some groups will go to put up barriers to voting."

Is there a way to improve voter participation in the U.S.? Should it be mandatory, or are there already too many people voting?