Obama suggested making it illegal not to vote. Here's how that's worked in Australia.

[babylonsister]

Obama suggested making it illegal not to vote. Here's how that's worked in Australia.

Updated by Dylan Matthews on March 18, 2015, 4:38 p.m. ET


On Wednesday, President Obama came very close to saying the US should make it illegal not to vote:

This isn't an outright endorsement, though the right-leaning Washington Times quotes Obama as saying that compulsory voting "may end up being a better strategy in the short term" than limiting campaign donations.

But it's certainly a surprising thing to hear the President say. 11 countries — including Australia, Singapore, and Brazil — enforce compulsory voting laws, and another 11 have them on the books but don't enforce them. But politicians and commentators in the US rarely mention the idea. But it's worth taking the proposal seriously. Other plans to increase turnout — like holding elections on weekends, making Election Day a national holiday, or having everyone vote by mail — have had mixed results; some studies say they work, others find no or even negative effect.

Compulsory voting, on the other hand, definitely works.


Compulsory voting increases turnout

Stanford's Simon Jackman, reviewing the evidence in 2001, found that compulsory voting (usually enforced by fines, or loss of government benefits) increases turnout, with country comparisons indicating a boost of 7-17 percentage points.

The experiences of individual countries adopting or repealing compulsory voting laws also suggest a significant effect. For example, turnout in the nine elections after Australia adopted compulsory voting was, on average, 94.6 percent, compared to a 64.2 percent average for the nine elections before the reform. In the absence of experimental evidence, it's hard to be too confident about the exact size of the effect, but the research base — including studies released after Jackman's review — is fairly unanimous that compulsory voting increases turnout.

And it also makes electorates more representative of the overall population. "Comparative studies of turnout note that the relationship between socioeconomic status and voter turnout weakens as turnout increases," Jackman writes, citing this paper. "Thus, to the extent CV [compulsory voting] increases turnout, CV also removes socioeconomic differences in electoral participation. Quite simply, when everyone votes, there can be no socioeconomic 'biases' in turnout."

more...

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/11/7155285/australia-compulsory-voting-turnout-midterm

[hobbit709]

1. But TPTB want less voters-mandatory voting after eliminating 1/2 the voters doesn't do any good

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

2. And here is the LIE headline at the righwing rag

Obama calls for mandatory voting in U.S.

Out of context, and I wont believe he said it all until I hear it myself.

He did say INSTEAD of limiting campaign donations, if he said it at all.

Mandatory voting, which really means there is some extremely minor fine for not voting, is a great idea, actually.


what he said was

"It would be trans-formative if everyone voted"

just heard it on news

[seveneyes]

3. And what party controls Australia now?

The same party that enforced mandatory voting?

[sabrina 1]

17. Lol, I was just wondering about that. Seems forcing people to vote doesn't necessarily

result in a good government.

I think it's a terrible idea.

I would rather MOTIVATE voters by showing them that voting IS worthwhile, unlike now where many 'used-to-be' voters no longer vote as the view it as a waste of time against all that money they simply cannot overcome.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

4. so, what of the people who find no candidate

worthy of their vote? are they going to be required to choose someone and hope for the best? will there be a selection for 'none of the above' or 'indifferent'???

sP

[babylonsister]

6. I talked to an Aussie about this

years ago; people would write in someone if they weren't happy with their choices, someone like Mickey Mouse.

[marlakay]

9. I have friend there she said because of law most people pay attention

even if they are not political. It is a very very very tiny amount of people who write in Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse but the law states you must vote not for who.

I think its a great idea but what has to go along with it is the public finance and only calling elections 30 days ahead so there is no constant election cycle. They only allow ads on tv the last 30 days and both sides are allowed equal time for free.

Also they vote on Saturday to make it easier for people who work.

[marions ghost]

21. Truly Australia is enlightened re voting

America's backward and byzantine and easily manipulated elections make a mockery of democracy.

Australia gets people voting when they are young and keeps them voting.

Think about how this thwarts voter suppression.

[Demit]

16. On our machines in PA, you can register a No Vote.

It demonstrates that you came out to vote, so you care enough to do that, but you are essentially registering a "none of the above" vote. Another option is to write in a vote for someone who isn't on the ballot.

[cui bono]

22. That happens to me a lot. I vote for the least "not worthy". n/t

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. What makes the most sense to me would be a

'none of the above' option that, if it wins any given race, requires a new election for that race, in which 'none of the above', ie, prior candidates, can run. So if your choices are Clinton and Bush, and 'none of the above' wins, each party has to go back to the drawing board and supply a different candidate and try again.

[Journeyman]

5. Just because someone votes doesn't make them an informed citizen. . .

Democracy is dependent on quality, not quantity, and simply stuffing the ballot booth is no guarantee the ballot box will reflect wisdom or even self-interest.

Two illusions of democratically-ruled countries were shattered in the early part of the 20th century by the rise of totalitarian movements in the European nation-states. The first was that a modern democracy is always governed by majority decision. What was shown instead is that the politically neutral and indifferent masses can be manipulated and prodded to act against their own interests and, in the proper situations, can easily become the majority in a democratically ruled country, proving that democracy could function according to rules actively recognized by only a minority. And the second illusion shattered by the political involvement of these disinterested masses was the belief that democracy rests upon the involvement and participation of an enlightened citizenry. On the contrary, by drawing the disinterested into the process, and turning it on its head, totalitarianism showed that democracy rests as much on the silent indifference of the inarticulate as on the articulate and visible institutions and organizations of the country.*

Rather than seeking merely to get-out-the-vote, we should instead be far more interested in cultivating an educated citizenry who will act for the good of the nation because it will be in their own interest to do so. Once a people is properly involved and motivated, they'll seek the polls for themselves.

But when we encourage the politically uninvolved to vote we quickly find that such voters can be easily swayed not by reason or self-interest, but by flash & filligree and a little fear for good measure -- perfect candidates for current Republican nonsense, and potential backers of a host of even more unsavory political movements.


*Paraphrased from Hannah Arendt, Totalitarianism 1952.

[babylonsister]

7. Perhaps if voting were mandatory,

citizens would attempt to inform themselves. Couldn't be any worse than the apathy we see now.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Now, about that enforcement...

I propose a 2 tiered enforcement plan:

Republicans who do not vote have choices:
1. million $ fine
2. deported to the Mid-East country of their choice
3. or their ballot can be used as a vote for Dems.

dems who do not vote have these choices:

1. 50.00 fine
2.deported to Fla*
3.3 day incarceration in a comfortable but solitary cell with Sara Palin;s speeches piped in non-stop.

all ballots shall have, as an option to the candidates , a place to vote for "None of the above".

* about the Fla. option. Enough get deported to Fla and it will become a Dem state,
Then we can select another blue state for deportation.
Utah may be the last option.

Who is for this..show of hands.

[Journeyman]

14. Or you would just be forcing easily manipulated, low-info voters to pull a switch. . .

And more to the point, how do you maintain the illusion of political freedom in a society in which participation in that freedom is mandatory?

As others have pointed out upthread, this isn't what the President was suggesting at all.

[Fumesucker]

15. There are plenty of people who don't know jack but are articulate

And conversely there are more than a few who know plenty but are not articulate.

In fact the average confidence man is extremely articulate, it's what they use to run the confidence game...

[n2doc]

8. How about offering people $10 if they vote?

Make it a positive thing. 120 million dollars (2012 levels) seems a small price in the total amount of election spending.

[onethatcares]

10. now wait one minute here

that would be like a campaign contribution or sumpin. Almost like buying ones vote, you know you'll never see things like that
in our Congress, nope, never.

[Fred Sanders]

20. 2 Big Mac coupons?

Seriously, though, a non-refundable tax credit of $100, against taxes owing.

Or automatic voter registration, as in Israel.

[greymattermom]

11. how about a lottery

Everyone who votes gets a ticket

[PeoViejo]

13. Soviet Union under Stalin had it.

[Fred Sanders]

19. Because Australia is a poorer comparison??

[babylonsister]

24. Yawn. Apples and oranges.

Stalin didn't care if people voted or not; Obama does. You don't see a difference?

[Revanchist]

25. And we didn't?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

28. There you have it. And who does most of the nominating?

The big money donors, by making the people to whom they give cash 'viable', by allowing them to run ads, have ground game, do mailings and phone calls. It's why we need 100% publicly funded elections.

[Fred Sanders]

18. Start with a federal National Election Holiday - Democracy Day, like in Israel yesterday.

[Cha]

23. It should be a national holiday.. It's too bad so many don't vote especially Dems in the Midterms.

[Travis_0004]

27. It doesnt sound constitutional to me

People have the freedom of speech through voting or by not voting.

Plus do we really want to fine people for not voting?

[Martin Eden]

29. What is the punishment for NOT voting?

Also, how do they handle legitimate exemptions?

I'd rather see a system that rewards rather than punishes.

Every registered voter who casts a vote at the polling place or uses some method of early voting gets a tax credit. Those who pay no federal income tax get a rebate check. The value should be a sufficient incentive, perhaps $100.

This reform should also be accompanied by a campaign to better inform voters with widely a distributed list of candidates, their positions on key issues related to the government function of their office, and their resume'.

Of course, many other significant reforms are needed to fix our dysfunctional electoral system, but this would be a good start.