Is compulsory voting a good thing?
The Australian system of compulsory voter attendance began in 1924. Voters are obliged to attend the polling station, but they can leave without voting after ticking their names off, which partly explains why the Australian voting rate is less than 100 per cent. Non-attendees face a fine of AU$20.5 Critics of the system question whether it is “democratic” to use financial or social sanctions to compel citizens to turn out to vote.6 Supporters maintain that compulsory voting removes socio-economic status turnout biases. They also argue that, in a nation like Australia built on immigration, compulsory voting is a symbol of “the integration of new arrivals into the Australian way of doing things.”7 The very low Swiss voter turnout rate (40 per cent) reflects citizen perception that voting has little impact on how the country is run, according to political scientist Mark Franklin.8 Switzerland’s administration is highly decentralized, and the federal government has limited powers. The gove
