But also realize one of the great things about living in a free country, even with all of America's faults, is the ability to exercise your right _not_ to vote.
Personally I see both upside and downsides to it. On one hand it's a violation of my right not to vote, but on the other hand that's one of the more minor violations which the government by necessity commits anyway. The upside is that it leads to more moderate politics -- there's no need for the parties to appease the "base", so they always wind up fighting in the centre.
Furthermore, it doesn't really sound like they're forced to vote - it sounds like they're forced to drop a piece of paper in a box that may or may not express a vote.
Most people can walk to their local school, community hall etc. There are places to vote absolutely everywhere.
There are no queues to vote. You just walk in and vote. This year, I queued for the first time ever. there were four people in front of me, I had to wait maybe twenty seconds.
Voting is always held on Saturday