yeah I know, I would never not vote to express my ditaste for politicians, because than they would win, but I am just trying to say that people deserve a right to not vote if they want, for whatever reason it might be.

Most of my reasons against required voting aren't about any specific reason, but the government truely doesn't have the right to force anyone to vote. My philosophy is that the gov shouldn't make people do anything, if not doing it doesn't specifically hurt anyone.

They should go the other way...anyone who can't be bothered to vote probably should not.

Also, anyone getting more from the government than they pay in taxes should be declared a ward of the state and not be permitted to vote. Break the cycle.

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Jarlaxle
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I know that I will never be politically correct
And I don't give a damn about my lack of ettiquette
--Jim Steinman

I used to think compulsory voting was a great idea. They do the same thing in Chile, where I used to live.

But then I realized one simple fact, implicit in having the right to vote, is having the right NOT to vote, whether by abstention or simple apathy.

Sure, more people SHOULD vote, especially in the US, but the state has no right to force us to do so.

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"Yes. That's correct. Making a statement that's 100% true can't be bigoted."

I believe in freedom to vote, and freedom to not vote.

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"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."



~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I can be very, very dense at times

You're welcome.

As I said above, I can be dense, if you could enlarge on your point it might help me think about it and perhaps offer a response.

Of course it's a citizen's duty to vote, the various electoral acts here make it so. Putting a duty on a citizen doesn't affect their freedom deleteriously. Citizens are required to perform jury duty - does that harm their freedom? No, it doesn't. Similarly with voting. All citizens in any democracy have duties and responsibilities as well as rights and freedoms. This is just a duty we have in our society.

Take our commonwealth (federal) parliament. The lower house is composed entirely of members of parliament who are elected on a preferential basis. Every citizen in every electorate has voted a preference as to the candidate they wish to see in parliament. Each member of parliament is the most preferred candidate in the electorate and because all citizens discharged their duty and voted then that strengthens the moral claim of that member of parliament to that seat. The government we get as a result of that process is by a positive vote and not a default as happens in countries where voting is optional.

thanks to everyone posting and reading.

thanks diuretic for providing further information.

for clarification, it is only required that you are given a ballot paper, and a space to fill it out confidentially. there is NO checking of how you have voted, nobody else is allowed to see your ballot paper, but you must be given one and must put it in the ballot box.

about 5-10% of people do not vote. they get given a ballot paper and submit it blank or with abuse scrawled over it.

the benefit of the system (and from my understanding the reason it was introduced)is that by making it compulsory for everyone the government also has to make it possible. it removes the option of the government providing a limited number of voting places at election time. this was especially important early on when the population was small and very thinly spread over a vast area.

most australians support the current compulsory system. there have been attempts to remove it, but they have all failed.

there are a few people who raise the same kind of objections raised on this forum. personally, my opinion is that the benefits of getting universal attendance far outweigh the tiny restrictions on liberty one day every 3 years.

the benefit is that it is always very easy to vote, there is always information available at the voting places. also, there is a sense of interest in the community as everyone must, at some level, become involved. i think this advantage is accidental but very good.

thank you all again.