Welcome to the “If I Ruled” series, where I get to stroke my ego and think about what I would do if I could change anything within our laws. This week: voting laws.

In 2012, the United States had roughly 58% of its voting eligible population turn out to the polls. That leaves out more than 40%, over 100 million citizens, who did not vote. 

Some did not because they were unable to, many more because they simply did not choose to do so. 

They had to work and did not want to potentially lose hours of pay from leaving work to vote, they had other obligations, or they were simply too apathetic to want to vote. 

According to a CBS News article from Sept. 15, only 43 percent of Americans trust the executive branch of the Federal government. The legislative branch is doing mucwh worse with only 28 percent approval. There are many problems that both parties can agree on: partisanship, efficiency in government, and too much money in elections just to name a few. The first and easiest way the people can start to fix our system is by voting.  

Voting is crucial in a democracy. How can our elected officials represent us if they do not know what the public wants? I believe that voting in elections should be mandatory. 

Every two years (which is when all members of the House of Representatives are elected), there should be mandatory voting. 

Now mandatory, or compulsory, voting sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but it is the surest way to hear the voice of the people.

Voting is compulsory in Australia, and roughly 90-95% of eligible voters turn out for their elections, though they do have some interesting side effects. 

To make voting more appealing, voting should be spread out over two days, Friday and Saturday. 

Many states have laws which state employers must allow time off to vote. 

Iowa allows 3 hours of paid leave to go vote, though this is not the norm. 

There should also be ample early voting starting no later than a month before the official election Friday. 

People who have not voted usually say something similar to “My vote doesn’t matter anyway” or “They’re just two sides of the same coin.” 

Because of that reason, I believe there should be a “No candidate” option on every ballot. 

This will allow those who do not like any of the options to make that known and make a powerful statement.

If, when election results come in, 20, 30, or even 40 percent of voters say they don’t want any candidate, a very meaningful message will be sent to our representatives. 

It should also be easier for third party candidates to get on the ballot. That way, a possible third party candidate can have a better shot at getting elected. 

Finally, after the two days of elections and calculaitng the results, the following Monday should be a Federal holiday. It will give people a breather from the election and will allow everyone to gather themselves after their candidate wins or loses. 

Because no matter how the vote goes, 100% of the population will need a drink.