Should it be the law that everyone has to vote?

[Constellationsofmyheart]

Interesting local election results in my city with no overall majority.

Turnout typically very low for the local elections.

It’s got me thinking, should it be law that everyone has to vote?

A lot of people are very disillusioned with politics and a lot just don’t understand or don’t know who to vote for therefore they just don’t bother.

That means that a minority are making decisions for the majority.

If everyone had to vote then people might be more inclined to do their research, but at least everyone would have their say.

Everyone voting wouldn't stop there sometimes being no overall majority.

And if you hate all of them, you just turn up and spoil the ballot which is waste of valuable time when counting. Or what, you get arrested if you don't come to the polling station?

Only if there was a “none of the above” or “reopen nominations” option. I have no one to vote for and cannot be alone in that.

Spoiling your ballot is essentially “none of the above”.

They have compulsory voting in Australia ( I think the fine for not voting is minimal). I think it’s a good idea.

No i don't think people who have no clue what their voting for should vote.

For many years I actually believed voting should be compulsory

However the referendum on leaving the EU totally changed my vew because it demonstrated the danger of politically uninformed, and misinformed, people exercising their right to vote without understanding the consequences of their action. In fact some people actually admitted to voting Leave as a joke.

So whilst I think that every effort should be made to get people to engage in the political process I think making voting compulsory would end up with more catastrophic outcomes for society.

I disagree it wastes valuable time. There’s no deadline. Time spent counting shouldn’t be a consideration, and people should be able to spoil their ballots if they want to.

I would imagine it won’t be brought in though. Because I think whichever party brought it in would worry that all the people who don’t want to vote will turn up and vote against them because they’re annoyed they’ve had to come out to do it.

@Somesweetdayi don’t think Australia has experienced catastrophic societal outcomes for the 100 yrs it has had compulsory voting

Not with the way social media and false narratives are currently spread. A lot of people base their opinion on a post on Facebook created via Microsoft paint and believe every word of it and will vote based off that.

even now reform is getting votes because of false info spread, and people are hating on reform because of skewed narratives as well.

But some people who have no clue what they’re voting for, do vote and that’s scary and why we are where we are now probably.

I think people should be obliged to vote and would hope (maybe a vain hope) that those who have some understanding would outweigh those who don’t. There would need to be exemptions and exceptions too.

No, I don’t think it should be compulsory but I do think there should be a certain percentage that the winning candidate should get above. For instance, in a general election, the winner should receive above 25% of their constituency. If they can’t get one in four of their constituents to vote for them then how can they best represent the area?

I don’t know how it would be enforced, it would have to be fines 🤷‍♀️

Compulsory voting wouldn’t change anything about the uninformed voting, as people vote anyway. People vote as if they’re supporting a football team, people vote on gimmicks and soundbites.

Well Australians are very lucky then.

Perhaps they have a more intelligent and thoughtful population than we have in the
UK.

Here a lot of people are actually proud of knowing nothing about politics, And have no sense of the way politics affects our everyday lives down to the smallest details.

If everyone had to vote then people might be more inclined to do their research, but at least everyone would have their say.

You think? If I was forced and didn’t want to, I’d just spoil my ballot.

I'm Australian and left 27 years ago. My poor mother had to turn up to the Magistrates court on my behalf to explain why I did not vote (I was at that point working in Siberia and it wasn't possible to return home for the summons).

I was fined $75 from memory.

I still believe in compulsory voting. I think it is a fundamental obligation.

They have this in Australia and Belgium. Neither produce a 100% turn out and the Belgians stopped prosecuting people for not voting back in the 1950s, I believe.

It sounds a nice idea, but I am doubtful it will work in practice.

You should vote but we have freedom not to. Protect freedoms.

Yeah you're right there. And maybe it doesn't really waste time and it's fair enough to spoil it if you choose to.

i agree to a point. Paying tax is an obligation. I think participating in democratic processes- no matter how reluctantly- should be an obligation.

I also think people throughout the ages have died for the vote. I think each of us has an obligation to honour that as well.

FWIW my parents who are still in Australia spoiled their ballot last time around. They are in their late 70s and have always voted 'properly'. But last time they could not in good conscience vote for any of the options. So they rocked up and had their say politely on the paper. As a former election official way back in the distant past i know that these spoiled ballots if expressed in a non-x rated way are passed back to the various parties. Does it make a difference? well- who can say.

I agree. I know so many people who don't vote and choose to remove themselves from any political debate or follow the news because it's "depressing." Which is fine until they start moaning about the NHS, schools, housing etc as if those issues happen in a vacuum. I would be in favour of making voting mandatory and fining people who don't vote or request an exemption in time, as they do in other countries. Voting is such a privilege and it winds me up that people, especially when it's women, just can't be arsed to do it.

No.

Whats the point?

if people aren't interested enough to go & vote, there is no point in making it compulsory. You can fine them for not going and putting an x in a box, sure, but you can't name them think about where that x is put.

Only if the need for photo Id is got rid off

Of course not. Voting is an affirmation of the system. It provides legitimacy. A poor turnout communicates disillusionment & effective disenfranchisement.

Given how unpopular the parties that have been successful this week seem to be, how ludicrous is it that there are no leaders able to capitalise and offer something appealing. The lazy - they all voted the wrong way because they are stupid/mean/inferior is a pathetic response. The response should be ‘How ineffective must we be that the people we desperately want to serve, prefer this alternative?’ followed by some ruthless self-reflection, goal setting and targets for rapid improvement.

Yes I think it should be

No just as it is our democratic right to vote it's also our democratic right not to vote if you so wish.

I'm a voter.