Is voting compulsory/optional where you are?

[muskrat]

Voting in Australia for all tiers of govt is compulsory. I re-enrolled after being MIA for the last few elections and cast my vote this time thereby exercising my puny democratic muscle.

Voting stations in Oz opened saturday at 8am, closed at 6pm and the result was know and confirmed by around 8.30pm same day. Easy.

In the USA is voting is optional? Wouldnt that sway the outcome? What about you guys in Euroland and Canada?

Will the use of the electronic gizmos that cast doubt over the last election be used again? What about Canada and Euroland?

Cheers MR.

[kilroy]

voting in the US is optional.

[Penta]

Optional in the UK. Registration is done by filling in a form that arrives in every household once a year, in early autumn. Not perfect, because if you fail to fill it in and return it you can get left off the electoral roll, and if you move in the interim you have to remember to let them know (but if you're still registered at your old address you can vote by post).

I couldn't vote in the local elections for the first time in my life this year, because I moved to a flat that for some reason had been left off the database, was abroad anyway when the forms came round, and hadn't taken in that I'd missed the form last year. So I was spared the difficulty faced by thousands of Labour Party supporters who didn't want to support the party in the wake of the Iraq War and didn't want to waste their vote.

[muskrat]

Interesting Penta I didnt know that. To be more acurate, going to the polling station and having your name marked 'as voted' is mandatory.

What you write is up to the individual. If you dont, expect a fine. If you dont pay, the penalty goes against your vehicle registration and/or drivers license. Dont pay the fine increases and your rego/license is suspended.

Cheers MR.

[DawnC71]

People lose their licenses over not paying child support in the USA but that does not dissuade many of the dead beat parents who still manage to escapre having to pay for their kids....I doubt most americans would be too in favor of anything like voting being compulsory in anyway...although it should be I think....I think voting is a civic responsibility and if you dont excercise your right to vote then you have no right to bitch about the government.
Just a personal opinon...I also think that people who refuse to support the children they already have should be mandatorily sterilized to prevent the conception of future offspring as well. If you dont pay you should not get to play in my opinon.

[Vincent]

When I ran for public office two years ago, I proposed instituting a system of compulsory voting, modeled after the system they have in Austrailia. Not only was I roundly denounced by the third most powerful person in the state, I lost my election quite handily.

[Buzzsaw]

When I ran for public office two years ago, I proposed instituting a system of compulsory voting, modeled after the system they have in Austrailia. Not only was I roundly denounced by the third most powerful person in the state, I lost my election quite handily.

That's interesting. Why do you think that people should be forced to vote?

[Skirita]

I agree that voting, like jury duty, is a civic responsibility and should be required of all citizens.

However, I also believe that an uninformed vote is worse than no vote at all. In my private political utopia, voters would pick a candidate and then answer a short True/False quiz about that candidate's official, stated position or voting record on certain key issues, i.e. "This candidate voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution HR 114", "This candidate voted in favor of the PATRIOT Act", "This candidate supports a woman's right to choose", etc.

If the voter answers the majority of questions correctly, their vote counts. If not, they obviously don't know a goddamned thing about their candidate and shouldn't be voting in the first place.

The idea is that this would force voters to look beyond "who looks better" and actually pay attention to what each candidate stands for.

That's my master plan. Flame away.

[Buzzsaw]

The rational voter, of course, would not vote at all, realizing that it is a waste of time and energy and that his one vote would make no difference in a national election. That being said, I always vote and discourage everyone else from doing so.

[Vincent]

Couple of reasons. First is what I call the old mafia reason - If we all put a bullet in the body, we're all guilty for the result. Needless to say, that is not the way I phrased it in my campaign literature.

Second, not voting is the same a casting a vote in the negative.

I believe that democracy is better served by increased participation. If politicians know only a certain segment of society is going to make the decision in an election, they can tailor their message to appeal only to those who they know will turn out and vote or be involved in the process.

I've seen it argued on other threads - why are US politicians so supportive of Isreal when the seem to follow a policy contrary to the stated principles of the US? Well, guess who votes and participates in large numbers. You think there is any chance Bush/Kerry will be doing a lot of talking to Jewish Americans or Cuban Americans in FLorida this year?

[Buzzsaw]

Vincent, if not voting is a vote in the negative, then isn't that enough? What about one's "right" of abstention?

[Vincent]

Here's the thing - I would also have allowed for a "none of the above" option, which I think you are saying is implicit in a non-vote.

I would disagree with you there. I think I see what you're saying in that if someone doesn't vote they are saying, in effect, they all suck.

The problem is that 1, I don't think that is what people are saying. And 2, it certainly isn't how that is interpreted by elected officials and politicians. They view a non-vote as someone who's concerns do not need to be paid attention to or addressed.

However, if everyone went to the polls and basically voted no-confidence, someone would start to pay attention.

[Skirita]

If everyone went to the polls and had to pick a candidate, then third parties would be much more powerful.

[Renard]

You can still abstain from voting in a compulsory system. There is no rule against spoiling your ballot, as the ballot must always remain a secret.

The point of the exercise is far more important: getting people to vote. The fact that voter turnout in the US is below 50% is indicative of a big and dangerous disenchantement with democracy.

[DawnC71]

I am totally in favor of a none of the above choice being mandatory in all elections as well...if none o the schmucks are good enough for the job then we should force the national parties back to the drawing board time and time again until they elect a candidate who the American people can have confidence in.....in ALL of America, I find it hard to believe that two schmucks like George W. and John Kerry are the absolute BEST we can do....I just refuse to believe that.
Cheers,
dawn