Some countries fine you for not voting and turnout is huge. Others say forcing people to the ballot box just floods elections with uninformed votes. Is mandatory voting democracy at its best — or a contradiction in terms?
Join the debate to comment
Reading is free. Members pay to post — that's why it stays clean.
Add your commentI used to skip every election thinking it didn't matter. Then a local race was decided by 11 votes and changed my whole neighbourhood. I will never call a vote 'pointless' again. Mandatory or not, show up.
thats elitist gatekeeping with extra steps. who decides whos 'informed enough' to count? thats a far more dangerous power than a few low-info votes
the real fix isnt mandatory voting, its better candidates. people would crawl over glass to vote if they actually believed in someone. low turnout is a review of the menu not the diners
if you want higher turnout, fix the barriers. make election day a holiday, easy registration, accessible polling. you dont need a fine, you need to stop making it hard on purpose
Forcing someone to vote who knows nothing and cares less doesn't make democracy stronger, it just adds noise. I'd rather have 60% informed voters than 95% who flipped a coin in the booth.
We compel jury duty, taxes, and education. Society already requires civic duties when the stakes are high enough. Why is the one that decides who runs everything suddenly the line we won't cross?
Then make the ballot have a 'none of the above' option. Mandatory turnout, optional choice. You show up, you can still formally reject them all. Best of both worlds and nobody talks about it.
people who dont vote arent lazy, theyre often the ones the system failed hardest and gave up on. fining them for being disillusioned is punishing the symptom and ignoring the disease
Every argument here is really about whether you trust your fellow citizens or fear them. Notice that. Your position on mandatory voting is just your position on people, wearing a policy hat.
Mandatory voting in my country means politicians have to win the WHOLE population, not just rile up their base. It pulls everything toward the centre and away from the extremes. The results speak for themselves.
and you think VOLUNTARY voting isnt already decided by ad budgets and name recognition?? thats the current system you're defending lol. at least mandatory removes the 'who can be bothered' lottery
Counterpoint: low turnout among the people the system fails is EXACTLY why it keeps failing them. Power follows participation. Opt out and you hand the whole thing to the people who always show up.
the right to vote includes the right to NOT vote. forcing participation isnt freedom, its just a softer kind of coercion with a civic costume on
ok the jury duty / taxes comparison actually shifted me a little and i came in here ready to disagree. annoying when that happens
that none of the above idea is genuinely the smartest thing ive read on this in years. if 'none' won youd actually force a redo with new candidates. terrifying for politicians, great for everyone else
where its mandatory the answer is: small fine, and if you genuinely cant or wont, you explain why and its usually waived. nobodys getting jailed. the doom scenario is imaginary
freedom means the freedom to opt out. full stop. a democracy that legally compels participation has already lost the plot about what its protecting
Genuine question I never see answered: what's the punishment ladder? Fine, then what? Jail for not voting? Once you trace the enforcement to its end it gets uncomfortable fast.
The fine is tiny where I live, like a parking ticket, and turnout is 90%+. Turns out a small nudge changes behaviour massively. We overthink this because we hate being told to do anything.
Mandatory voting just means uninformed people vote for whoever has the best ads and the most name recognition. You're not getting wisdom, you're getting marketing budgets deciding elections.
Is 'Sinners' the most important Black American film in a decade, or is the vampire metaphor just Hollywood dressing up history to make it palatable?
38 comments
Netflix's 'Adolescence' shows a teenage boy becoming a killer — did the show actually get modern boyhood right, or did it miss the point entirely?
38 comments
Is MLS actually a serious league now, or is it still just a retirement home for aging superstars?
25 comments
Ronaldo or Messi: be honest, who is the actual GOAT?
24 comments