When I walked into a Montgomery County Precinct on midterm election day, volunteers were ecstatic about the turnout. “It’s been busy—it’s very encouraging!” one Democratic booth runner said. “I’m expecting about 33 percent of registered voters to come today,” said Maryland Chief Election Judge Craig Buck. Buck has been an election judge for six years, and according to him, this was a good turnout.

According to the January U.S. Gallup poll, 65 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with their government. Despite this disapproval, less than 50 percent of Maryland’s registered voters showed up to cast a ballot last Tuesday.

We boast about our democracy, we make petitions for change, and we complain about Obama—you’d think we would take the time to vote. When we incessantly whine about the government without voting, it adds to an endless cycle of cynicism and disappointment. The most direct solution to this problem is compulsory voting.

We already have compulsory school attendance, taxes and jury duty. Voting would simply be another mandate that would ensure that each and every citizen plays a role in the government. The simplest, most accessible way to enact change is to cast a ballot.

Mandatory voting is completely feasible. In Australia, everyone over 18 is required to vote or face a fine, and those legitimately unable to vote are officially exempt. If the U.S. followed in its footsteps, our government might have to make strides ensuring that polls were accessible to everyone, but what we see in other countries shows that it would be worth it. About three-fourths of Australians, where mandatory voting went into effect 90 years ago, are in support of their voting requirement.

In Singapore, which also requires voting, 78 percent of the population believes that their government is managing the country well. There are 11 countries with mandatory voting today, and all of them have higher government satisfaction than the United States.

A required vote would also help mend the disconnect between socioeconomic classes by accounting for the interests of everyone. A paper by the Inter-American Development Bank found that mandatory voting lowers income inequality, a reform we sorely need. The wealthiest one percent of American citizens controlled over 22 percent of American income in 2012. The divide is only worsening, and we need to strive to mend it in any way possible. By valuing every citizen’s opinion, compulsory voting would help close this gap.

Critics of compulsory voting may argue that it’s unfair to require voting because mandates aren’t democratic. The irony is that voting is the first step toward a strong democracy. Instead of passing laws restricting voting, we should be promoting it.

Over the last century, we’ve fought wars in the name of democracy and avidly followed the revolutions of countries fighting for their voices during the Arab Spring, the World Wars and in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.

Today, we watch from our living rooms as Hong Kong protests in an attempt to maintain its democratic heritage. Every American has access to the democratic system that millions fight for every day, and not nearly enough people are using that power.

We enjoy the ability to vote as a core part of our democracy—it’s only right that we take this freedom as a responsibility.

Video by Naba Khan.