Do you really Gotta Vote?

The Gotta Vote tour bus tour is in Iowa City today:

Iowa City

WHO:            Former Lt. Governor Patty Judge
                      Sandra Fluke
                      Actor Tate Donovan              

WHEN:         Monday, October 1, 2012 at 5:15 PM CDT

WHERE:       The corner of Clinton Street & Iowa Avenue
                     Iowa City, Iowa

Technically speaking, in America you don't gotta vote. On Friday I had an interesting talk with an Australian journalist who visited my day job and saw part of the maelstrom that was Day 2 of voting. She noted that Australia doesn't have the elaborate get out the vote drives that we do here in the states -- because instead they have mandatory voting.

Leaving aside the screaming and ranting from the fools who are actually proud of not voting, what would that do here? Would it mean Democrats would win every election?

Maybe not, without some other reforms like clean redistricting. I hate to be a pessimist, but Slate thinks that a Democratic US House win is impossible, thanks to redistricting consultant Jerry Mandering. 

A little more local: a QCTimes look at the House 89 race between Democratic incumbent Jim Lykam and Republican Bill Edmon of the Davenport city council.