President Barack Obama’s recent remarks on poor voter turnout and how mandatory voting could impact American politics drew an immediate response from liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans and everyone in between.

In a way, that’s good, because it has prompted widespread discussion on the traditional poor voter turnout in this country. While mandatory voting laws exist in 12 democratic countries, including Australia, Greece and Mexico, opposition to mandatory voting here seems to be strong for a variety of reasons; however, there is general agreement that it’s time we made some changes to our voting laws.

A recent survey revealed that in our last midterm elections, voter turnout was at its lowest level since the 1940s, varying from state to state depending upon the number of heated races for the governor’s seat or the U.S. House or Senate.

Maine had three candidates in the gubernatorial race, no doubt one of the reasons our state recorded the highest percentage of voter turnout anywhere in the nation — 58.5 percent.

Finishing last was Indiana with a 28.8 percent voter turnout.

We don’t have the statistics in front of us, but we think Maine historically boasts a record of high voter turnouts, which says a lot about the commitment of our citizens who take their responsibilities seriously.

However, there is always room for improvement. Thanks to the recent discussion on mandatory voting, many states are now thinking about ways to encourage more people to vote. Oregon has apparently just started a new program whereby absentee ballots will be mailed prior to statewide elections to any resident who is on record with its Department of Motor Vehicles, if it appears they have not registered to vote. Oregon is reportedly the first state to offer voting by mail-in ballot, other than the more limited absentee voting policy offered by most states.

We agree with some of the current criticisms of our voting system, including the fact that state and national elections take place on a weekday, which is not convenient for a lot of Americans who work for a living. It appears we could do more to make it easier for folks to vote, such as easing registration restrictions. Again, Maine is a leader in offering same-day registrations, which is probably easier to accomplish in small towns such as ours than it is in a city of several million residents.

President Obama’s statements about the tremendous impact on the political scene if everyone — or even a big percentage — voted are indisputable.

It’s been said more than once that those who currently vote tend to be older adults and those better educated who tend to follow politics more closely.

Mandatory voting would put an entirely new slant on politics in America, because far too many in our country don’t vote on a regular basis and some have never voted even once. We really don’t favor laws that make them vote, but would like to see our nation as a whole make an all-out effort to take whatever steps necessary to encourage everyone to vote and make it easy to do.

We’d be interested in knowing the impact of Oregon’s vote by mail-in ballot system in the next few years. On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. Why not be able to fill out your ballot in the convenience of your own home, and mail in your vote? Why should it be necessary to go to the polls on a certain day during certain hours?

Bringing up the topic of mandatory voting just may pave the way for some positive changes in voting practices in the months ahead, and that can’t be all bad.