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Compulsory voting is a practice that requires citizens to vote in elections or to attend a polling place to get their name crossed off the electoral roll. Because of the secret ballot, people can only be compelled to cast ballots and remain free to spoil their ballot papers. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he/she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or imprisonment. Voter turnout is very high in countries with compulsory voting.

Contents 1 History 2 Arguments in favour of compulsory voting 3 Arguments against compulsory voting 4 Countries with compulsory voting 4.1 In the past 4.2 Now 5 Measures to encourage voting 6 Compulsory voting in non-democracies 7 Compulsory voting in Austria 8 Notes 9 External links

The idea that it is every citizen's duty to participate in the decision making dates back to the foundation of democracy itself, the Athenian democracy. Attendance at the assembly was in fact voluntary, however, as is sourced from Aristophanes's comedy Acharnians 17-22, in the 5th century BC, public slaves forming a cordon with a red-stained rope herded citizens from the agora into the assembly meeting place (pnyx), with a fine for those who got the red on their clothes. This can't compare with the compulsory voting schemes of some modern democracies being rather an immediate measure to get enough people rapidly in place, like an aggressive form of ushering.

The most commonly cited reason for compulsory voting is to guarantee that the government represents the will of the majority of the whole population, not merely those individuals who choose to vote. This helps ensure that governments are not neglecting those sections of society that are less active politically.

It is also argued that voting is a "civic duty", much like paying taxes, and that it is important for the continued functioning of the nation. People are required to pay taxes and sit on juries for the good of society; many nations feel that voting is a civic responsibility that all citizens will want to fulfil.

Political leaders of compulsory systems may claim greater political legitimacy than can those of non-compulsory systems with lower voter turnout. A government that has heard from nearly 100% of its adults is more responsible to its citizens than is a government elected by, for example, 33% of its adult citizens.

While the secret ballot is designed to prevent interference with the votes actually cast, compulsory voting aims to prevent interference with access to the vote. It is a measure to prevent disenfranchisement of the socially disadvantaged, and mitigate the impact that external factors may have on an individual's capacity to vote (weather, transport, etc). Polls have to be on a Saturday or Sunday, to ensure that working people can fulfil their duty to cast their vote. Mobile voting booths need to be taken to old age homes and hospitals, so that immobilised citizens can fulfil their duty to vote. Postal voting is provided for people who are travelling away from their homes at the time of the election.

One argument against compulsory voting denies that voting is a civic duty and instead asserts that it should be construed as a civil right. While citizens may choose to exercise their legal rights (free speech, voting, etc.) they need not necessarily avail themselves of those rights if they do not wish to do so. Following this logic, compulsory voting can be seen as a serious infringement on the basic freedoms of the citizen.

For example, many nations provide free basic health care to its citizens, but few (if any) actually require their citizens to see health professionals. Additionally, nations that guarantee citizens the right to freedom of speech might not require that citizens express their opinions publicly.

Compulsory voting may also infringe on other basic rights. For example, most Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they should not participate in earthly political processes. States forcing them to vote would explicitly deny them their freedom of religious practice. However in countries with universal voting, Jehovah's Witness and some others are excused.

Some individuals resent the idea of being coerced into voting, particularly if they have no interest in politics or have no knowledge of the individual candidates. Others may be well-informed, but do not have a true preference for any particular candidate. Such people may vote at random simply to fulfill legal requirements. This so called donkey-vote may account for 1-2% of votes cast in a compulsory voting system. This could possibly be eliminated by simply including a "No Preference" option, but few jurisdictions have chosen to do so.

Libertarians and others argue that compulsory voting is a violation of personal liberties, and that individuals should be free to decide for themselves whether they wish to vote. Fining people who choose not to vote can be seen as oppressive. Some groups assert that low voter participation in a voluntary election shows dissatisfaction with the political establishment in a country.

An Australian news report says compulsory voting may influence the focus of a campaign towards swinging voters, with candidates and political parties trying to win the votes of the undecided, rather than motivating their "base" supporters to the polls. As a result of this, it could be argued that polticians would therefore adopt more centrist and less extreme policies in order to appeal to politically centralised swinging voters, leading to more stable governance. However, forcing people who are less knowledgeable about politics to vote has the potential to degrade political campaigns to more populist or superficial levels.

Compulsory voting may also lead to an increase in the amount of invalid ballot papers which are not marked according to the rules of voting (either through deliberate spoiling or returning a blank ballot) as a form of protest against mandatory voting. But a spoiled vote is still a vote and has fulfilled the citizen's moral and legal civic duty.

One argument that can be powerful in certain societies is that of personal safety. In Peru, where voting is compulsory, the Shining Path guerrilla threatens those who vote^[1]. People risk violence if found in election day by senderistas with their finger stained in the indelible ink that is used to detect repeated voters^[2].

• (U.S.) State of Georgia in 1777: Every person absenting himself from an election, and shall neglect to give in his or their ballot at such election, shall be subject to a penalty not exceeding five pounds; the mode of recovery and also the appropriation thereof, to be pointed out and directed by act of the legislature: Provided, nevertheless, That a reasonable excuse shall be admitted. ^[3]
• Austria (introduced 1929 for presidential elections and 1949 in some states for parliamentary elections, abolished step by step between 1982 and 2004)
• Netherlands (introduced 1917 along with universal suffrage, abolished 1970)

There are currently 32 countries with compulsory voting. Of these, 19 enforce it. Only 10 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have forms of compulsory voting.^[4]

Countries that enforce compulsory voting:

• Argentina
• Australia (compulsory enrolment and voting for both state^* and national elections)
• Belgium
• Brazil (non-compulsory for 16 & 17 year olds and those over 70)
• Chile (enrollment voluntary)
• Cyprus
• Ecuador
• Fiji
• Greece
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Nauru
• Peru
• Singapore
• Switzerland (Schaffhausen)
• Uruguay
• Turkey

^*In South Australia it is not compulsory to enroll for state elections^[5][6][7]. Nevertheless, as the enrolment form is a combined Federal and State one, with no provision to not enrol for the State^[5], it is practically compulsory.

Countries that do not enforce compulsory voting:

• Bolivia
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Egypt (men only)
• France (Senate elections only)
• Gabon
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Italy
• Paraguay
• Philippines
• Thailand

Other:

• Soviet Union: while de-jure voting was not obligatory, de-facto voting was enforced, to report that 99.8% of Soviet people "unanimously support" the current Soviet leader.
• Zaire: Suffrage was universal and compulsory in Zaire,^[8] although the country was a single-party state (until 1990), and President Mobutu was the only candidate allowed to run in presidential elections.^[9]

Although voting in a country may be compulsory, penalties for failing to vote are not always strictly enforced. In Australia and Brazil, providing a legitimate reason for not voting (eg being in hospital) is absolutely accepted. If a non-voter is sanctioned with a fine, the amount is often very small or nominal in the countries. The current fine for not voting in Australia is $20, with 21 days to pay it. If the fine is not paid, increasing sanctions will be used, such as cancelling a driving license.

Penalties for failing to vote are not limited to fines and legal sanctions. Belgian voters who repeatedly fail to vote in elections may be subject to disenfranchising. Goods and services provided by public offices may be denied to those failing to vote in Peru and Greece. If a Bolivian voter fails to participate in an election, the citizen may be denied withdrawal of their salary from the bank for three months.^[10]

In Turkey, according to a law passed by the parliament in 1986, if an eligible elector does not cast a vote in the elections, he/she has to pay a fee of about 3 US dollars (5 YTL).

Very rarely, compulsory voting occurs in states that attempt to create the illusion of democracy, while not actually being representative. Nations such as the Communist states of Eastern Europe during the Cold War could hold elections and plebiscites, and mandate voting by the populace. These states could advertise near-100%, universal turnout in these elections. However in almost all cases, the countries that require voting from all their citizens are western democracies (see the list above). In the early post-revolutionary period in Iran, many people, especially employees of the state (by far the nation's largest employer) were often coerced into voting for candidates selected by the regime, by the requirement that identity papers be stamped to evince the vote, thus individuals without this stamp may have faced charges of disloyalty to the regime.

The mandatory voting for the elections to the Austrian National Council was abolished in 1992. Until then, each province was entitled to regulate mandatory voting in the respective provincial election laws. Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg were the last provinces to exercise compulsory voting. They did so until 1992. As for the presidential elections, a nation-wide duty to vote existed until 1982. Subsequently it was up to the provinces whether or not they required the exercise of the voting right. During the elections to the office of Federal President in 2004, only the province of Tyrol still had a provision governing compulsory voting. However, said provision was abolished in the same year, shortly after the elections. (Source: Federal Ministry of the Interior website http://www.bmi.gv.at/wahlen/elections_compulsorey_voting.asp). The law was never enforced.

• International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance - Compulsory voting information
• Suffrage - The CIA World Factbook
• Compulsory Voting, Not
• - Australian Electoral Commission - Electoral Backgrounder - Compulsory Voting
• - Australian Electoral Commission Australian Electoral Commission