President Barack Obama signed a new executive order (today) which will make voting mandatory for all adult Americans, starting in November of 2016. The latest Obama fiat will change the landscape of American federal elections, in a move that many believe will strongly favor democrats’ future campaigns.

Obama recently hinted at mandatory voting while taking questions in Cleveland, Ohio, but did not indicate that he was considering forcing the notion through an executive order. The surprising move marks the first time in US history that an American president forced something on the American people of this scale using an executive order.

Effective immediately, all Americans ages 18 and older will be expected to register to vote no later than October 1st, 2016, and must vote on November 8th, 2016. Those who fail to vote will be penalized with a fine of up to $200, with repeat offenses increasing that fine by 50%, up to a maximum cap of $500 per federal election. The rules and fees do not apply to local or state elections, nor are they applicable to party primaries or caucuses.

The new law exempts certain individuals from the mandatory vote and/ or the fine. Convicted felons, who are prohibited from voting, are exempt from the law. Those serving in the military on active duty are exempt from the fines, but are still expected to vote. And, perhaps controversially, those aged 65 and over — people who typically tend to vote Republican — are also exempt.

The executive order also makes election day a Federal holiday, with a stiff tax penalty for those companies that force employees to work, and grants a tax cut to companies that volunteer their vehicles to transport voters to and from their respective polling stations, an initiative that will greatly help cab companies, and possibly even other businesses, like food chains that offer delivery services.

Obama’s executive order does not, however, address other major issues with federal elections. It offers nothing in the way of campaign, campaign finance, or lobbying reforms, nor does it address the issue of voters not learning about candidates or their platforms, which some election historians and experts believe to be the root cause of Congress’ record-low approval ratings.

“We don’t need more voters unless those voters actually know who and what they’re voting for,” says former FEC Deputy Director Mike Wallace. “An unhealthy percentage of American voters are either MSNBC or Fox News drones, who get all of their `information’ from totally bias sources. A responsible voter could, for instance, name five things about President Obama’s two terms that they approve of, and five things they disapprove of. Anyone who isn’t capable of doing that, all while presenting factual information, would abuse their ballot and cause harm to this country. We’d all be better off if they just stayed home.”

Wallace, a George W. Bush appointee, says the executive order unfairly benefits Democrats as well. “The people who typically don’t vote are young people and poor people, and obviously young-poor people. Minorities and immigrants don’t usually vote, either, at least not in large numbers. Guess who those groups will support in 2016 under this new law? If I were still a Republican, this law would have me outraged right now.”