Tournament: Hendrickson | Round: 1 | Opponent: Danna Leal | Judge:
The value is morality.

Moral obligations are defined by what would be universally accepted
Derek Parfit, British philosopher who specializes in problems of personal identity, rationality, ethics, and the relations among them. “On What Matters.” Oxford University Press
"When we apply...
...reasons to choose."

Rational beings choose whichever principles are true, and since there is only one truth, conflicting beliefs can’t both be true. Therefore, all rational beings would choose the same principles, which is why rationally universally acceptable principles are the ones that should be implemented.

Therefore, the standard is conforming to rule consequentialism

Contributing to collective harms is wrong according to rule-consequentialism
Jason Brennan, 2009. Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University. “Polluting The Polls: When Citizens Should Not Vote.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy. http://www.waukesha.uwc.edu/Faculty~-~--Staff/Directory/Faculty-Staff-A-C/Greg-Ahrenhoerster/LEC-100-Syllabus/brennan.aspxNMS
"Bad voting is...
...of this code 2000, 159-174."

Any action which would not be universally acceptable ought not to be taken by anybody because its internalization in society would cause negative consequences.

A citizen is considered to have voted badly if they do not have a sufficient rational reason to vote for harmful or unjust policies or candidates.
Jason Brennan, 2009. Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University. “Polluting The Polls: When Citizens Should Not Vote.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy. http://www.waukesha.uwc.edu/Faculty~-~--Staff/Directory/Faculty-Staff-A-C/Greg-Ahrenhoerster/LEC-100-Syllabus/brennan.aspxNMS
"So, as a second...
...standard of care."

Citizens often vote “badly” when they are uneducated in or have no interest in politics. Compulsory voting forces all citizens to vote, even the uneducated and uninterested ones, and therefore condones “bad voting.”

Bad voting causes more harm than good
Jason Brennan, 2009. Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at Georgetown University. “Polluting The Polls: When Citizens Should Not Vote.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy. http://www.waukesha.uwc.edu/Faculty~-~--Staff/Directory/Faculty-Staff-A-C/Greg-Ahrenhoerster/LEC-100-Syllabus/brennan.aspxNMS
"If restraining oneself...
...our collective expense."

Bad voting violates the code of norms whose internalization would ultimately lead to positive consequences for everybody, because if everyone, or even the majority of people, voted badly or negligently, the consequence would be unfair and unjustified laws, which would contribute to the collective harm of citizens.

A study done on rural Manitobans and urban Winnipeggers shows that, currently, the uneducated are less likely to vote
Mia Rabson, 2011. Reporter for Winnipeg Free Press. “Poor, uneducated less likely to vote.” Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/provincial-election/poor-uneducated-less-likely-to-vote-130959098.htmlNMS
"What is more...
...to stay home."

This shows that bad voting does not occur as much in the noncompulsory voting world as in the world of compulsory voting, since those who are uneducated in politics tend to not vote. If compulsory voting were implemented, these uneducated citizens would be forced to vote, and since they would be voting negligently, they would be voting badly. This means that a compulsory voting system condones bad voting, and therefore is morally wrong because bad voting, if internalized, would bring about collective harms.

Tournament: Hendrickson | Round: 2 | Opponent: Hamza Ghani | Judge:
I affirm the resolution, Resolved: In a democracy, voting ought to be compulsory.

I value government legitimacy since the resolution questions what ought to be done in a democracy
In order to remain legitimate, sovereigns are obligated to uphold the social contract by fulfilling several responsibilities
Hannah Alejandro 1, 2011. Georgetown Law Center. “The Sovereign Obligations of We, the People: An Argument for Compulsory Voting in the United States.” Georgetown Law CenterNMS
and#34;The clear consequence...
...thus dissolves it.and#34;

Since governments sustain legitimacy through the social contract, my standard for the round is upholding the social contract

Sovereigns must proactively try to secure the happiness of all its citizens-failure to act especially violates the social contract
Hannah Alejandro 2, 2011. Georgetown Law Center. “The Sovereign Obligations of We, the People: An Argument for Compulsory Voting in the United States.” Georgetown Law CenterNMS
and#34;Pro-activity is the...
...of representative government.and#34;

And, in a democracy, people are sovereign.
Ian Shapiro, 2003. Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science and Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center at Yale University. “The Democracy Sourcebook,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology.NMS
and#34;Democrats are committed...
...rule over themselves.and#34;

Shapiro states that in a democracy, citizens are sovereign. Since sovereigns have an obligation to secure the happiness of its citizens, citizens have an obligation to each other to proactively secure their well-being.

Citizens have to employ their sovereignty by voting
Hannah Alejandro 3, 2011. Georgetown Law Center. “The Sovereign Obligations of We, the People: An Argument for Compulsory Voting in the United States.” Georgetown Law CenterNMS
and#34;So how does...
...our entire system.and#34;

Since everyone has the obligation to use their power for the well-being of all citizens, and the only way to use that power is by public participation, i.e. voting, citizens have an obligation to vote.

Voter inequality causes us to neglect the well-being of under-represented communities

A huge portion of the population is in poverty
Paul Buchheit, 2013. Teaches economic inequality at DePaul University. He is the founder and developer of the Web sites UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org and RappingHistory.org, and the editor and main author of and#34;American Wars: Illusions and Realities.and#34; “Half of Americans below or near poverty line,” The Salon.NMS
and#34;The Census Bureau...
...the awful truth.and#34;

With such a large percentage of people living in poverty, it would be unfair and unreasonable for sovereigns to disregard their financial status and lack of welfare.

And, destitute communities participate in politics less than affluent ones due to social norms
Emily Keaney and Ben Rogers, May 2006. Ben Rogers is the IPPR senior research fellow, and Keaney is … A Citizen’s Duty: Voter inequality and the case for compulsory turnout. Institute for Public Policy Research. http://www.ippr.org/ecomm/files/a_citizenand#39;s_duty.pdfNMS
and#34;However, while many...
...in deprived communitiesand#34;

And, there are three reasons to be concerned about voter inequality: the effects on elections results, the legitimacy of the democracy, and the spill-over effects of voting
Quintelier, et al, 2011. Ellen Quintelier is a postdoctoral researcher of the Research Foundation and an Invited Scholar at the University of Mannheim. he holds a PhD in Social Sciences, Master in Political Science and Advanced Master in Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences. The Effect of Compulsory Voting on Turnout Stratification Patterns. A Cross-National Analysis. International Political Science Review; http://www.partirep.eu/sites/default/files/publication/file/59.pdfNMS
and#34;There are three...
...decline in turnout.and#34;

And, compulsory voting reduces poverty for less privileged citizens because it gives them more representation
Bart Engelen, 2007. Research Assistant of the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders (Belgium), Centre for Economics and Ethics – Institute of Philosophy (K.U.Leuven), Centre for Economics and Ethics – K.U.Leuven, Naamsestraat 69, Leuven B – 3000, Belgium. “Why Compulsory Voting can Enhance Democracy.”SL
and#34;The more citizens...
...participation and influence.and#34;

Thus, since compulsory voting is the only way citizens can minimize poverty and maximize well-being of ALL other citizens, I affirm