Originally Posted by hot dragon

as i have heard in australia, the opposition to compulsory voting tends to be theoretical.

the ignorance argument is i think not good enough. there are plenty of uninformed americans who vote, and plenty of informed ones who do not. in australia, it is the electoral commissions responsibility to ensure there is information available at the polling place, so ingorance on the day is no excuse.

the forcing argument is i think equally flawed. you are, as i said before, not forced to actually vote, nobody checks to see if you filled out the ballot paper properly, you can do what you like with it. but it is compulsory that you attend on the day and get given one to do what you like with. there are plenty of laws that we are all required to follow that infringe on freedoms in small ways. this is no different. voting is still your choice, it is just a legal requirement that you get that choice.

the system aims to deliver a secret ballot to everyone without interference. the law means everyone gets the opportunity. the electoral commission visits hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, etc and there is nobody who would like to vote who can say they were not given the chance.

why is it good? i can equally ask why would we be better off without the compulsory system? would we have more freedom? would society be a better place? unlikely. at best, compulsory voting is irrelevant, but there is little to say it is harmful.