Jonah Goldberg: How an enduring myth about voter turnout distorts our politics

I have long opposed making voting mandatory, an idea that pops up every few years. I still don’t like the idea. But it’s become more attractive, at least as a thought experiment.

The arguments against compelling people to vote — as Australia and a handful of other countries do — run from the constitutional (it’s coerced speech) to the cultural (this is America, dagnabbit) to the practical and the partisan.

Historically, the practical case is that it’s