Many people would loudly proclaim that compulsory voting is an anti-democratic idea, but it seems unlikely that anyone would argue that Australia and Belgium are dictatorships because they fine people who don’t vote. The $20 fine is high enough to make it worthwhile for voters to participate but low enough that it is unlikely to bankrupt someone or be burdensome to enforce.
Australia implemented compulsory voting in 1924; the voter turnout in Australia has never been lower than 91 percent.
Emilee Chapman, a political scientist at Stanford University, describes the simple logic behind compulsory voting: “It really offers this society-wide message: There is no such thing as a political class in a democracy. Voting is something that is for everybody, including and especially people at the margins of society.”36
While compulsory voting will probably never pass in America, there are ways to encourage people to vote that are legal and would probably withstand a constitutional challenge, from the persuasive (nationally funded campaigns like those done to promote savings bonds and victory gardens during World War II) to the direct (tax deductions available only to voters). It’s a great companion discussion to the national debate about automatic voter registration.
1 comment:
Stop calling it compulsory voting, that just gets people mad. It’s mandatory ballot return — you don’t have to vote, but you have to return the ballot mailed to you (if in a vote by mail state like Oregon and Washington) or go to your polling place to confirm the rolls. You can go, confirm the information on the rolls, and leave if you want. So you don’t have to vote. But you have to do what’s necessary to allow the government that spends a fortune holding elections to confirm that all eligible voters got their chance to vote.
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