I've always looked at compulsory voting as effectively forcing people to take responsibility for their right to vote. I don't like forcing this, but I also don't think it is a big ask to tell people they have to turn up once every 3 years. The one thing I don't like about compulsory voting in the context of the current system is that the actual voting part of this is not compulsory. What is compulsory is to have your name ticked off and collect a ballot paper, you are under no compulsion to fill it in. Unfortunately you are not allowed to go around saying that if you like none of the candidates you don't have to vote for any of them. Compulsory voting gets people to the ballot box which is a positive, but they should be presented with all options. Most will choose to fill in the ballot since they turned up.
One of the things which does distinguish the USA is that countries with voluntary voting, ie just about every country, generally encourage people to get out and vote (although I have no idea why so many of them hold elections on weekdays). But in the USA they selectively discourage voting. I remember an election some years ago where voters in black areas were lining up for hours to vote as there were very few polling places, while the white areas had heaps of voting places and no lines. You weren't able to go and vote outside your own area in that state/county. The way voting is controlled by the states does reflect that the USA is a union of states not a federation, but it is absurd that states have so much power of elections for federal office.
DS
You know the one thing my British mates seem to have observed here, compared to the UK (where voting is obviously voluntary). As you quite rightly suggest, yes, people are encouraged to vote in a country like the UK. But because it’s not mandatory, there doesn’t seem to quite be the same saturation of voting booths.
By having a compulsory vote, the AEC have made it their mission that there will be saturation of voting booths. Give people no reason to not turn up seems to be the mantra.
I’ve worked at a lot of elections as a polling official (really enjoy it actually) and sometimes I think to myself that it could be done more efficiently and do away with a third or even half of the booths in some towns/cities. But that would be against the spirit of our system. The spin off of compulsory voting is that the system makes accessibility paramount. And that can only be a good thing.
I have ambivalent feelings towards compulsory voting. But the good outweighs the bad from my experience. The compromise would be like you say, perhaps make it more publicised that it’s only compulsory to get one’s name ticked off and hence, their right to put a blank form in the box if they so wish.
The other point I’d extend on, when you’re comparing our electoral system to the US. It’s not just that there is no consistency from state to state in the US. I believe that they don’t even have a neutral, independent electoral commission. The entire system is run by the political parties themselves. Hence the propensity for gerrymandering. We of course have independent electoral commissions at both the federal and State/Territory levels. A crucial element to maintain electoral integrity.
