Tea partyers would kick and scream over it, but the idea of compulsory voting is not foreign to American soil. In other countries, it’s been shown to increase democratic participation into the 90-percent-plus range. Such a law in the U.S. would likely empower Democrats, who’ve traditionally won the votes of the poor and minorities.

Simon Liem at Harper’s Magazine points out that roughly half of Americans today do not vote. According to a poll by USA Today and Suffolk University that showed unregistered voters would pick Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by almost 2 to 1, the gap represents a huge missed opportunity for Democrats.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.