Should voting in the United States be compulsory? In 2004, fewer than 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the American national elections. After reviewing arguments for and against compulsory voting, your young citizens will compose letters to the editors of their local newspapers in which they discuss whether they believe voting should be compulsory.

Concepts

civic duty, civics, voting, democracy, persuasive arguments

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Additional Tags

american election, mandatory voting, civic participation, social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• The activity would benefit from a discussion of the topic and further reading/research before writing the letters

Pros

• Detailed writing prompt, complete with a bulleted list of several pro/con arguments
• Opportunity to prompt engaging discussion for a very relevant topic

Cons

Common Core

RH.11-12.2 WHST.9-10.1.a WHST.9-10.4 WHST.11-12.1.a WHST.11-12.4