I don't like mandatory voting

[andrewducker]

I want people to vote. But I loathe the idea of people being forced to vote.

People should vote because they believe it's making a difference, and they're making a positive statement that they believe a particular person/party will do a decent job of representing them.

The IPPR have suggested forcing 18-year-olds to vote. Because voting levels

Comments

[gonzo21]

Given the change to the way voter registration works this year, I expect the number of 18-20 year olds registered to vote to plummet. Which is probably why they're talking about forcing people.

Hell, I struggled myself to be arsed re-registering, because I don't really see the point in voting anymore. And I consider myself to be a fairly politically engaged person. God alone knows how many shits your average 18 year old simply does not give.

Which is to say, yes, I agree, PR would make a huge difference. I actually look forward to my vote in the Scottish elections where I can cast my vote for any party standing in the whole country.

[rhythmaning]

I completely agree with you. And in addition to what you say, if political engagement is a good thing (and I believe it is), make politics engaging! Explain why it is important, relevant, what the policies are, and what a difference it might make.

I am still somewhat surprised that the main debate was held BEFORE any of the parties had published their manifesto (possibly with the exception of Plaid Cymru and the Scottish Greens - though I think they came out the day). Frankly they could have said anything and it wouldn't necessarily be policy (otherwise known as the UKIP gambit...).

[nancylebov]

And if you can't give people someone to vote for, at least give them someone to vote against.

[lilchiva]

I am all for Compulsory voting, in theory. In practice, it doesn't seem to be a meaningful way of improving overall democratic conditions. Australia, as an example, has many of the same political problems as the US, Canada, and the UK. Most of the other countries, that have it, are either very small or known for being corrupt oligarchical dictatorships. So, it's probably not actually a great idea. But, maybe I am wrong. I do kinda want to move to Australia.

[danieldwilliam]

I have less of a problem with mandatory voting, or to be more precise, with mandatory going to a polling station and having your name ticked off.

There are many public duties that are mandatory in some jurisdictions, such as registering the birth of a child or carrying identity papers. I can't get too excited about mandatory voting either way.

I do agree with you that the first and best thing to do to address concerns about turn out is to change the voting system so that it rewards voting with influence and to change our political culture so that citizens find it easy and rewarding to be engaged.

[alitheapipkin]

Yeah, I was going to say pretty much the same - I don't think we should have mandatory voting, but I'd be less against it if we also had a 'none of the above' box so people have a way of officially spoiling their ballots in protest at being given no real choice. Of course, we then also have the question of what happens if 'none of the above' wins... Voting reform would surely be easier.