The Introduction Of Compulsory Voting System In Australia

Introducing Australia’s compulsory voting system has seen polling attendance rates reach over 90% and stay above this figure consistently since 1924. Before introducing compulsory voting, attendance rates were dropping to below 45%, resulting in a government less representative of its citizens, along with an underlying bias toward the individuals casting votes within this representative. All Australian citizens are required to vote by law, as democracy is defined as participation from all parties. This allows voters, irrelevant of their political status or physical attributes, to put forward their opinions on the current government decisions, all whilst enhancing their knowledge of politics.

Compulsory voting in Australia increases attendance rates at elections and enforces political involvement from a wider variety of participants. This has proven effective, given the number of voters casting their ballots fluctuates between 90-95% since its introduction in 1924 (AEC, 2019), making participation rates some of the highest in the world for almost 100 years. These rates benefit both government bodies, and voters themselves, as equalizing the electorate by allowing for universal and un-biased voting conditions, develops a system based on the terms of a variety of diverse and broad voting pools.

As of the 2018 Mid-term election in the U.S, voter turnout totaled at 116 million (E. Stewart, 2018). While it is a considerable figure, compared to the population of the USA, it only accounts for 49.3% of the population. 2018’s figures surpassed the previously recorded 48.7% in 1966 and were just below the all-time high of only 50.49% in 1914 (E. Stewart, 2018). This means that less than 50% of the population of the U.S has not had either the ability or inclination to express their opinions and make legitimate change to the way their country operates. These figures are paled compared to the consistently high numbers of all countries implementing mandatory voting, especially Australia’s.

A democracy allows all citizens to express an opinion on an equal and fair basis. Within voluntary voting systems, most individuals exercising their right to cast a vote are considered “prosperous and well educated” (Hill, 2016). This implies that ill-informed, less educated and people of a lower socio-economic background are less inclined to involve themselves with political matters, creating a voting pool biased towards the prosperous and well educated. This results in governmental decisions becoming corrupted and suited to this group, rather than the entire population. Voting is an important component of developing and maintaining a citizen’s adherence to a political system while building a strong faith and connection to current governmental movements. It also reinforces their position as a citizen within a democratic society. Within this society, a voters engagement and willingness to inform themselves of current political matters, has seen to be diminishing, especially within countries where legislative bills have not yet passed to have voting become an obligation. Within a system where voting is personal choice, these ill-informed voters can ‘influence voting polls in an unfavorable manner’ (G, Fixer 2018), while also affecting the outcome of an election negatively. We often see that these individuals could be manipulated easily, along with their views and votes swayed by external influences such as corrupt campaigners. However, compulsory voting encourages voters to inform and educate themselves on the politics that apply to them before attending the polls on election days. Mandatory voting has the great potential to immerse and engage voters in political affairs regarding their country and personal views.

Considering a voters desire to educate themselves concerning political means, it sets up the opportunity for apolitical groups such as immigrants, who do not yet feel satisfied or assimilated with foreign governments, to voice their concerns, and become part of a diverse democracy. This ability to have their opinion heard, along with parties not being able to represent these minorities, it allows for marginalized groups to run as candidates, along with office. In contrast, voluntary voting systems can become confusing and overwhelming when voters are not provided the information about this process. This lack of information includes the registration process not being clear and elections being held on weekdays when absent voting might not be a possibility. Whereas in Australia, the electoral commissions have a responsibility to provide all the required information to cast a vote as simply as possible. A voter’s obligation to vote is matched by an even stronger commitment by the electoral commissions to allow this task to be fulfilled. These Australian commissions contact and assist marginalized groups such as ‘aging people, the homeless, those living in remote regions, prisoners, itinerant workers, people who have a disability, and people who are ill, housebound, living abroad, approaching maternity, hospitalized, illiterate or from a non-English speaking background’ (L. Hill, 2004). These groups are assisted to ensure their votes can be legitimized and counted in the simplest and most efficient ways. Within all voluntary voting systems, no electorate commission has been seen to go through this much effort to cater for voters. This ‘levels the playing field’ (AEC, 2020), and increases the number of citizens representing a minority, which is critical to creating a cohesive government representative of its people.

Compulsory voting, when executed effectively and proficiently, provides a solution to low and unequal turnouts at elections, along with solving the issue of a democracy only being represented by a certain portion of its population. The opportunities created for the apolitical groups, and misinformed members of society are highly important for the growth of Australia, and the growth an individual’s political knowledge. This personal growth, and understanding of the decisions being made within government bodies, creates a government more representative of its people, and a society more trusting of its political system.