Australia is not immune from the global trend of political polarization and disaffection. Nevertheless, election days in the country are a rare display of national unity.
On a Saturday approximately once every three years, roughly 90% of voters make their way (down the left side of the road) to their local polling booth. At nearly a third of booths, they are met by the great Australian tradition of the Election Day Sausage Sizzle. Campaign volunteers and staffers will be making last minute pitches for people’s votes and reminding them of party policies, rather than door knocking or cold calling to remind people to turn out. There are no get out the vote campaigns. The vote is out and about and eating barbecue: in Australia voting is compulsory.
Since 1912, compulsory voting has made voting part of the national psyche — roughly 88% of Australians say they would vote even if voting were voluntary. Even if this represents naïve optimism on behalf of survey respondents and actual voluntary turnout would be lower, it nevertheless does not paint the picture of a resentful electorate, bullied into compliance.
In fact, it appears the fear of punishment plays little part in people’s decision to vote. Anecdotal evidence suggests few Australians can accurately say what fine they would pay if they did not vote. If they were to look it up, they may be surprised to discover that if they do not vote and do not have a reasonable excuse, a backbreaking fine of AU$20 (approximately US $15) would be imposed upon them. Given the national minimum wage is AU$17.70, if every voter in Australia were Homo Economicus, voter turnout might be frighteningly low. Or perhaps more people would use the already popular and easy-to-access early voter mail ballot system.
But there are compelling reasons for compulsory voting beyond the civic bonding of a nation brought together by communal barbecue. And one does not need to resort to high-minded arguments of political philosophy, incorporating notions of civic duty or the desire for more legitimate political mandates, to find them. While there is much to be said for the virtue of a truly representative government elected “by [all of] the people, for [all] the people”, there are also sound practical reasons for compulsory voting.
The first and most compelling is that compulsory voting saves money: candidates do not need to “get out the vote”. While compulsory voting cannot cure all the ills of Citizens United, anything that helps mitigate the influence of funding in campaigns should be welcomed.
The second reason is closely related — when not spending time getting out the vote, the focus on campaigns must necessarily turn to the substantive issues. Political debate benefits from not merely being a struggle to capture people’s attention or needing to convince the electorate that their vote matters.
Third, parties have less incentive to go to the extremes on divisive social issues because policy making is not as bound up in securing the passions of voters for whom that is the singular issue. While not always true, this can help foster better dialogue about these issues. Given the evidence that the public at large is much less polarized than those who currently vote, compulsory voting brings the political system back towards the centre. For example, controversial issues like abortion are not used to drive turnout, and there are displays of bipartisanship in difficult moments like when a mandatory gun buyback was carried out following a massacre.
Finally, and crucially in an America plagued by voter-ID litigation, compulsory voting requires the government to make it easier for people to enrol to vote and then actually do so. When everyone must vote, obstacles to voting become much more apparent, more abhorrent, and there will be greater impetus for them to be removed.
These are large benefits compared with the minor infraction on citizens’ liberties from requiring them to vote. The effort required of people is low. In some ways, voting is somewhat like exercise: people dread it, but often find it really wasn’t so bad after all, perhaps they even quite enjoyed it, and indeed have an enduring sense of wholesome wellbeing afterwards. Fear not for the conscientious objector either — the fact that ballots are anonymous means that people who want to protest (or just have an uncontainable sense of humour) will not be penalized if they do not complete a formal vote. These kinds of what are called “donkey” votes (which at the last Australian election included some “hilarious” votes for Donald Trump) are less than 1% of votes cast. The strongest argument against compulsory voting is that the fines are regressive — people in lower socioeconomic groups are the most likely to find it difficult to rearrange their commitments to get to the ballot box. These concerns are mitigated by the fact that elections are on the weekend, the fines are low and will be waived on the showing of a reasonable excuse (fined were levied upon fewer than 0.5% of eligible voters), and by the fact that people who cannot leave their workplace on election day are able to register for mail ballots.
America’s voter turnout is one of the worst in the world’s established democracies, having not risen above 60% since the mid-20th century. While an electrifying candidate who mobilizes the masses to the ballot box might be a more inspiring way of encouraging voter participation, compulsory voting is a sound alternative. President Obama has hinted at his support for the idea. Sadly, however, it is unlikely to be a reality in the US anytime soon, and certainly not in the next month and a half. So for now the focus comes back on reminding citizens that their vote counts and that it has never been easier to work out how to cast a mail ballot. Just typing “mail vote [insert State]” into Google returns step-by-step instructions.
“Vote early and often” is a slogan associated with Al Capone and election fraud in America in the early 20th century. But perhaps now it should be a battle cry — vote early with a mail ballot if you won’t be in your home state on election day. And vote as often as the democratic process allows. No President is not an option, and so no vote is a vote too — just a less effective one.