To think voting should be compulsory

[TheoriginalLEM]

Im not sure what % of people didn't vote in this current shit show. But a significant number im sure. Even if there was a third "i don't give a fuck" option, we might have a clearer of what "the people" actually want.

I voted to stay but now i just want this over.

I think people who insist this lean towards the idea that it will somehow make their side win.

Ignoring the technical boundaries and obstacles (ID cards, database of how has voted) it would require a reform away from FPTP, which none of the current parties want.

It's why every election is framed on X Party won on x percentage of the vote, it is only the losers who then nit pick and say it isn't x percentage of the country.

The electorate isn't ready for PR, it has become more US style tribalism

I don't vote simply because I don't subscribe to the lies and incompetences.

Theunreasonableone. The landed gentry may not pass the exam. Because you are upper class it does not mean you are politically savvy and you are not necessarily a thicko (as you so eloquently put it) because you happen to be lower class. That is your own biased views.

It’s worth making the important distinction that in Australia, voting is not compulsory. Attending a polling place on election day is, but no one is checking that you’ve numbered the boxes or even written on your ballot paper. You have to participate in your democracy, but that does not mean you are compelled to vote for anyone if you’d rather not.

Voting and election days always feel like a massive anticlimax in Britain as there is no community activity around it - in Australia there are cake sales, sausage sizzles and other fundraisers and it’s fab.

There are arguments for and against compulsory voting, in my view. The low voter turnout here does shock me though. People are massively disengaged from politics and government.

Stupid idea. Some people don’t have a clue about politics because they don’t care or don’t understand half of what is going on, so how can you enforce something onto people who may not be educated to really understand what they are voting for.

God no!

If anything it should be restricted. Like a little test of comprehension to see if people actually understand what they are voting for... You fail, you don't vote.

Referendum would end up completely differently if people were allowed to vote only after placing India on a blank map....

The problem is not the number of voters, it's the degree to which voters are informed.

I don't think simply forcing everyone to vote will solve the problem that many people have no understanding of politics, the political system, or how the country is run and that's not necessarily their own fault. We know that Brexit campaigns were flawed on both sides, particularly leave, but in all votes we've become a country that is driven and divided by spiteful and divisive headlines in the tabloid press which stifle real debate and understanding with soundbites and slogans.

Asking more people to vote without making sure they know what they're voting for, why they're doing it or what the consequences will be (this includes the number of people who voted leave as a protest vote against the tories) is a guaranteed way to ensure that as a country the hate amongst us grows and the decision we make get more and more fucking stupid.

Starzig. Who will set this exam? Who will mark it? Do you think it a teeny bit possible that they might have an agenda?

Do you think it might be open to corruption? Do you think it might be a back way of ending universal discrimination?

Do you think that it could end in only state approved parties being on the ballot paper?

What will happen to people who fail this exam? Will they become sort of sub-class? Will they be entitled to pay less taxes?

Do you think it will discriminate against people who go to failing schools? Might it discriminate against those for whom English isn't their first language?

Do you think you have demonstrated that you are a little hard of thinking? I think you have.

No-one with an morsel of wit wants to end universal suffrage...except numbties or dictators!

I agree and think voting should be compulsory. It's your right, but also your duty as a citizen in a democracy to use your vote. People died to get the vote in the past - particularly women - so I'd feel really bad not using mine.

@starzig - I completely agree with you. Maybe not an exam, but some validation questions.

I’m in agreement with Lovingbenidorm.
I couldn’t decide on what BS to believe in so there we go. But you don’t have the right to force me to take one way or the other by making it compulsory. Clear remainer here “we were right, dah, dah, dah” the remaining side is actually starting to piss me off

Voting and election days always feel like a massive anticlimax in Britain as there is no community activity around it - in Australia there are cake sales, sausage sizzles and other fundraisers and it’s fab.

Australia has taken on the US model, its kind of the leapfrog effect but in politics, the UK has unfortunately taken on the US style tribalism two party state even more than the Australia has though. A pride in voting is related to a pride in the country which raises more nuanced areas

I have been saying for years that it should be compulsory to vote, but there should be a “none of the above box too. The “nobe if the above” votes should be counted too.
Either that, or the proration of the electorate that don’t vote should be included in the count. The majority needs to be a majority over these abstentions as well, to actually represent a majority.

I admit that there are bound to be holes in this plan. This is why I am not a politician!

I completely agree with you. Maybe not an exam, but some validation questions.

Imagine being on the same side of John Crow and thinking you are being politically astute...

Correction Jim Crow

I loathe that kind of arrogance, to say there should be exam, like people who say leavers didn't know what they were voting for. The people making these statements presumably think they themselves are intelligent enough and know what they're doing. Who decides? Also, there is no such thing as unbiased information so how can if be decided if someone is making an 'educated decision'?

The NUS include R.O.N. (reopen nominations) as a voting option in all elections, so you can express dissatisfaction with all available options . How I wish that it was a possibility in ALL elections...

What happens in Australia if you happen to be sick that day, or have been called away at short notice for an emergency?

"Sigh, im just clutching at straws really"

yes I think you are.

not turning up is often the don't give a fuck option unless something happens emergency wise. Other than that, you can sort out a postal vote, proxy vote etc

I don't want choices made because people are forced to vote. Also a bunch of extra work dealing with all the people who spoil the paper because they don't want to vote.

gottengottengotten you get fined, but then you can appeal it. While i was abroad and not in a place i could do a postal vote I appealed and was fine every time. Our elections are on Saturdays so most people are available (granted a lot work on the weekends) and in this state election just gone, if you know you can't be there you could apply to vote early, online or by phone. And as a pp said, it is compulsory to turn to and cross off your name, what you put on your ballot (including a spoiled vote) is your own choice, right and privilege to make.

I'm still not sure if it's the best idea, but I think it does get everyone thinking about their place in the democratic system.

Surely you can still spoil your ballot though in compulsory elections? Spoilt ballots mean something so even if you are made to go out and vote, you can still express you displeasure at having to do so.

PlainSpeakingStraightTalking

The "I don't give a fuck option" would be none of the above which is anything but "I don't give a fuck".

Its the ability to say that you don't support anyone in the shit show that is the current state of politics. Which is why the current government won't put it the election form as they might just have to do something about it.

Well, this is from wiki about Belgium:

Belgium has the oldest existing compulsory voting system. Compulsory voting was introduced in 1893 for men[4] and in 1948 for women, following universal female suffrage.[5] Belgians aged 18 and over and registered non-Belgian voters are obliged to present themselves in their polling station; while they don't have to cast a vote, those who fail to present themselves (without proper justification, or having appointed a proxy) at their polling station on election Sunday can face prosecution and a moderate fine. If they fail to vote in at least four elections, they can lose the right to vote for 10 years. Non-voters also might face difficulties getting a job in the public sector.[6]

I think it's a bit much being not considered for a job if you choose not to vote. It also says you just have to turn up to the Polling station, but not actually vote. Polling is normally on a Sunday here to avoid the working week.

I refuse to register to vote in Belgium, and maintain my vote in the UK. I think one should have the right to abstain, which is what I will be doing if Brexit doesn't get through, as we will no longer have a democracy, and my vote will have been shown to be worthless, so why bother?

I didn't vote and neither did any of my immediate family who are old enough.
I didn't ask for it in the first place, understand that even if we had been given the facts they'd have been lies anyway.
My apologies if that offends people, but that's up to them.

What a dangerous and authoritarian idea. Just listen to yourself it seems like this country is sleepwalking into a dictatorship because of a dripping tap of ideas like that. Also what happens to the people who don’t vote do the police force them to vote? At gunpoint if necessary? Do we introduce prison sentences-with the current overcrowding I’m not so sure sure that’s a great idea. The whole thing sounds totally half baked and not thought through. Just think on before you try to force others into doing things “your way”. If you really care so much you go and jolly well vote. Honestly, who are you to tell others how to live their lives?