I would like to take this opportunity...

[highlyeccentric]

To express my love of compulsory voting.

You citizen? YOU VOTE. Or we fine you a small amount of money. You can hand your form in blank or draw butts all over it if you like, but you hand the damn form in.

Positive consequences of this system:

- voting on Saturdays, when more people are free to do so
- everyone recognises the government and general public responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to voting systems. We're not perfect at implementing that (see also: ratio of wheelchair-accessible to other polling places; low registration rates of rural indigenous people) but, y'know, if you're going to fine people for not voting you assume its your job to make it possible for them to do so
- on a similar note, more efficient absentee voting systems
- comparatively less time and money spent convincing people to vote at all (we spend some time and money educating people on how to register, where and when to vote, but we don't have to whip up voter enthusiasm JUST TO GET PEOPLE TO THE POLLS). People trudge down there, ignore the spruikers, and write something on a form. Lo, democracy!
- 'voter fraud' isn't really a thing. Insofar as it might happen, it consists of people voting in multiple places: it's not possible to whip up fear of people voting who shouldn't vote, because EVERYONE DAMN WELL VOTES

TL;DR, compulsory voting, I like it. I would endorse it for more institutions (eg: student unions! I never vote in union elections, even though I should. If my ACCESS card were to be disabled if I didn't vote, I'd damn well vote. I might even form an opinion).

Comments

[cursor_mundi]

What I really like about the idea of compulsory voting is that it forces uniformity of voting systems: I've voted in two American states now, and absentee a few times, and it's a different process every damn year.

Also, in the US individual states are determined to reserve the right to figure out what effort they will and will not go to, to help citizens vote. Constitutional issues; it's why we will likely never get compulsory voting. My god, the uproar over health care proves that there are a lot of Americans who are totally against good ideas.

Anyway, tales of interest. State of Maryland: is really awesome, they've had early voting for disabled citizens for months (my father's an election judge and has been going around with a pack of sworn volunteers and registering people and collecting their votes since before Romney became the Republican candidate), early voting (weekends too, they're very popular) for anyone else for several weeks, they're getting high returns of participation (...for America...), it's great. State of New York: lols at early voting because reasons, has no problems with voter fraud (nor does Maryland), and it took me 9 minutes door to door this morning.

I am surprised that compulsory voting isn't uniform in other institutions, though -- a lot of US institutions mimic state structures. *contemplates*

[highlyeccentric]

See my comment here. A single federal electoral roll, which is then drawn down for state and council elections, is a GODSEND. I live in two electorates and one council ward, none of which map onto each other, and some statistical program works this out for me and sends me a little card in the mail before every election.

And if it didn't, I'd give the (PAID!) person at the polling place my address (for the last council election it was 'do you live on THIS side or THIS side of the road? Right, over here) and they figure it out for me. If my nearest polling place is in another electorate, or I'm at work or I'm boarding at uni or I forgot to change my enrolment or I went on holiday or I travelled across town for shits and giggles, I walk into ANY POLLING PLACE and vote absentee. There are usually a few places (eg: Sydney town hall) where you can vote "in your electorate" for any electorate in your state.

[cursor_mundi]

Paid people at polling stations?! Be still my heart! My father's unpaid, and all his people are volunteers and completely uncompensated (at least in Maryland), and the hours they pull and the shit they put up with... And finding enough folks to cover the jobs is a challenge.

But that single roll and ability to access it from multiple points would be top notch ways to prevent voter disenfranchisement (provided the voter can travel, which is usually not the case), or account for disasters like Sandy. Right now, that's a major problem for a good chunk of the local elections on the eastern seaboard.

[highlyeccentric]

Paid election workers is something that's SO OBVIOUS to me I can't fathom how (aside from: US budget, bizarre) you wouldn't do it. It shouldn't be left to people's goodwill! Also, election work (like census collection) provides much-needed occasional income and work experience for stay-at-home parents, the unemployed, students and retirees.