Political Science-mandatory Voting

The issue of consumeful take has been extant for over a century , and it is a complicated question of whether or non a governance should impose so cumplusory measures upon its citizenry to enrure a high equipage . There argon convince arguments for close to(prenominal) sides , and many a(prenominal) a(prenominal) gray commonwealths in in the midst of . This sh in all span three continents , and examine the on the buttonnesss of some(prenominal) countries where authorisation bal packing exists . Upon a c atomic number 18ful examination of the benefits and drawbacks of needed pick out statutes a conclusion go forth be channelizen that mandatory right to vote is non a satisfactory ideaRecently , liberal Canadian senator Mac Harb was in Winnipeg promoting the idea of mandatory suffrage in a speech for the Frontier Centre for Public policy . In Senator Harb s opinion , mandatory select reduces the power of superfluous take groups , ensures that concerns of minority groups are addressed , and restores globe cuss in the semipolitical organization . While I m eleemosynary to any change to our electoral system , I very question whether making ballot mandatory would restore public trust in the political system . The fact is that mountain bear t take precisely because they drop no religious belief in the political system - either there is no movedidate that they feel they chiffonier take for , or if they do vote , they vote for the lesser of three evils leaving them , again distrustful of the political systemIs mandatory balloting in the affaire of majority rule or in the interest of political parties ( country and political sympathies are non synonymous ? As one precipitous observer tonicityd , for any political party that gets at least 2 of the vote , they get 1 .75 for every vote received This significantly increases the amount of public monies way out into political parties including the mainstream parties (Liberals Conservatives and NDP . Does that , however , mean that democracy is being served ? On the new(prenominal) hand , forcing population who don t want to vote to do so , does not mean that they are , inevitably , apprised electors . Voters whitethorn spoil their ballots or vote for flush parties just to make a statement . There s cryptograph wrong with that , but does that advance the state of democracy in CanadaWhile it is true that except 22 of Canadian youth fazed to vote in the last pick , which is not good for democracy , mandatory take is only one of many steps needing to be taken to changing our electoral system in to get youth voting and to improve democracy One suggestion that that ahs been proposedd is that that they emiter the voting bestride from 18 to 16 . Another option is to brook of the above as an option on the ballot for those who don t feel that they can vote for any of the candidates . If more than 50 plus 1 vote for of the above , then there would be no elected person - be it civil , provincial or federal . Or , as others ware suggested , have a blank space on the ballot which allows for voters to lay aside in who they would like to vote forOn the other hand , Winnipeg Sun editorialist Tom Brodbeck brings up a good point when he suggests that as part of reforming the political electoral system that recalls and refer residueums should to a fault be part of a reform package . deny of politicians would likely require that a petition be gestural by 15 of eligible voters that would result in the remotion of the elected politician and the need for a new preference Referendums , on the other hand , provide the opportunity for voters to have a say on public policy issues by putting policy statements on the ballotInsofar as Senator Harb is touch on , it seems that he misses the point of enforcement . In Australia , those who don t vote are alrightd 25 .00 . It is likely that in Canada , voters would ignore this fine making mandatory voting unenforceable . If they want voters in Canada to realize that they not only have the right to vote , but the civic responsibility to do so , we must provide a positive , comprehensive model of reform that includes aspects of all of the aboveAustralia , along with Belgium , is the only mature democracy that requires its citizens to vote and in truth enforces the right Australia is likewise a nation we Americans can relate to . We apportion analogous historical narratives (outcasts fleeing Mother England , a frontier make believeionateness , and a laid-back nature that drives Europeans nuts . So Australia makes an arouse test case for an intriguing question : Could mandatory voting work in the United StatesAustralians have been required to vote in federal elections since 1924 . Concerned that voter bowout had douse below 60 portion parliament enacted mandatory voting after only 90 minutes of debate , and it s by noncurrent longly unchallenged ever since . Polls regularly show 70 portion to 80 percentage of Australians support mandatory voting . Lisa Hill , a research fellow at the University of Adelaide , explains it this way We re quite happy with some forms of coercion that others whitethorn not be happy withActually , the voting part of mandatory voting is a misnomer All Australian citizens over the age of 18 must register and show up at a sheeting station , but they need not actually vote . They can detypeface their ballot or write in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (Australia s version of Lassie ) - or do zip fastener at allWhat happens if you don t show up on Election Day ? You ll receive a fairly polite form letter . At this point , you can see the matter by paying a 15 fine or offering any subjugate of alleviates , including illness (no note from your doctor required , travel , religious objections , or just plain forgetfulness . For most spate , the matter ends here . In most elections , about a half- one million million million registered voters don t come to the poll . Ninety-five percent of them offer a valid excuse , and the matter ends there . Five percent pay a fineA few hundred cases each election actually end up in court Those who refuse to pay the fine or offer a plausible excuse face escalating threats , similar to the ones you receive from American Express when your balance is past due . The fine jumps to 37 and , in extreme cases , a brief prison sentence is imposed . But the Australian brass clearly doesn t want to imprison a lot of its citizens for not voting . I ve been able to find only a few cases of Aussies going to jail over this in the past few decades - all conscientious objectors courting get the picture . A significant percentage of Australians - about 15 percent of them - don t bother to register at all . The government doesn t go after these people , reserving fines and prosecutions only for those who register and don t show up on Election Day (Australia s 80-plus percent registration rate is very high compared to other democraciesEvery election , a few gadflies call attention to the contradiction between free elections and what is emergenceively laboured voting . Frank Devine , a journalist , wrote an editorial in the Weekend Australian the sidereal day before the October , 2004 elections , proclaiming that with some misgivings , I have decided not to vote tomorrow Devine pointed out that parking fines in Australia can be 10 times higher than the fine for not voting The disparity of punishment for these two scofflaw transgressions illustrates the flippancy with which our politicians have come to regard an act of repressive authoritarianism he wrote . If the Australian government were serious about mandatory voting , Devine pressd , it would impose a good deal stiffer penaltiesMost Australians obey the law , however , positive(p) that mandatory voting makes their nation a more strapping democracy . That s a difficult case to make . Yes , voter turnout is remarkably high , but it was in ibn Talal Hussein Hussein s Iraq , too . There is no evidence that Australians are better-informed citizens than Americans . If anything , mandatory voting has reinforced straight party-line voting , since backward voters find it easier to align themselves with one party or some other and get the whole business done with as apace as possibleMandatory voting isn t politically neutral . It s bound to affect which parties do well at the polls and which do not . In general political scientists believe the practice gives a slight edge (2 percent or 3 percent ) to liberal parties , since presumably the poor and disenfranchised , once forced to the polls , tend to vote liberal (although Australia did just re-elect worldly-minded Prime Minister John HowardAustralia also has a much higher rate of spoiled ballots than nearly any other democracy . There were 500 ,000 such ballots (out of 10 million cast ) in this month s election . These include sound off votes and those cast by recent immigrants who were confused by the notoriously complicated ballots . It does not include domestic ass votes so named because unbiased voters play pin the tail on the donkey at the polling station , hit-or-missly making their selectionsSo , might mandatory voting work in the United States ? It s a tempting riotous fix to our low levels of voter turnout . Also , remember our political parties freed from the burden of having to energize their base . Candidates could focus on converting voters , rather than trying to get them to the polls . As for concerns that mandatory voting represents government coercion , one might argue that our government coerces its citizens to perform many duties : pay taxes , attend coach , serve on juries and , in times of war , conflict and die for the nationIn the end , though , mandatory voting is super unlikely to work in the states . An ABC News poll conducted this past summer found that 72 percent of those surveyed rebut the idea . The results are almost identical to a similar poll conducted by Gallup 40 years ago . wherefore such resistance ? Perhaps because we view voting as a right , not a responsibility , and nothing is likely to alter that bedrock beliefAlso , mandatory voting would in all probability cause a further dumbing-down of election campaigns , if such a thing is possible Motivated by a need to attract not only undecided voters but also unwilling voters , candidates would probably resort to an even baser brand of political advertising , since they would now be trying to reach people who are voting only out of a thirst to obey the law and avoid a fineAdvocates of compulsory voting argue that decisions made by democratically elected governments are more legitimate when higher proportions of the population participate . They argue further that voting , voluntarily or other than , has an educational effect upon the citizens . Political parties can derive financial benefits from compulsory voting , since they do not have to spend resources convincing the electorate that it should in general turn out to vote . ultimately , if democracy is government by the people , presumably this includes all people , then it is every citizen s responsibility to elect their representativesThe leaders argument against compulsory voting is that it is not consistent with the license associated with democracy . vote is not an intrinsic obligation and the enforcement of the law would be an infringement of the citizens freedom associated with democratic elections . It may discourage the political education of the electorate because people forced to participate will react against the perceived source of oppression . Is a government really more legitimate if the high voter turnout is against the will of the voters ? Many countries with limited financial capacity may not be able to justify the expenditures of maintaining and enforcing compulsory voting laws . It has been proved that forcing the population to vote results in an increased name of invalid and blank votes compared to countries that have no compulsory voting lawsAnother consequence of mandatory voting is the possible high number of random votes . Voters who are voting against their free will may check off a candidate at random , specially the top candidate on the ballot .

The voter does not care whom they vote for as long as the government is satisfied that they fulfilled their civic duty . What effect does this unmeasureable category of random votes have on the legitimacy of the democratically elected governmentSome individuals resent the idea of being coerced into voting particularly if they have no interest in politics or have no knowledge of the individual candidates . Others may be well-informed , but do not have a true preference for any particular candidate . such(prenominal) people may vote at random simply to fulfill legal requirements . This so called donkey-vote may account for 1 of votes cast in a compulsory voting systemLibertarians and others a great deal argue that compulsory voting is a violation of personal liberties , and that individuals should be free to decide for themselves whether they wish to vote . These people believe that state control of the electorate runs contrary to the concept of democracy , which is supposed to preserve individual freedoms rather than violating them . Penalizing people who direct not to vote can be seen as oppressive . The fundamental concept behind oppression is that the majority imposes its views on the minority - and in this case , the majority imposes its views about voting on those who do not share those views . Some groups insist that low voter participation in a impulsive election shows widespread dissatisfaction with the political establishment in a country , a message that cannot be accurately conveyed when all citizens are required to cast a ballotAnother criticism of CV (cumpulsory voting ) is that it compels the participation of disinterested and hence poorly informed citizens who would otherwise abstain . A higher rate ofinvalid ballots (e .g , Tingsten 1937 ) and donkey ballots (where voters simply select the candidate at the top of the ballot ) are some of the few consequences attributable to the mobilization of citizens with low levels of political interest or worldliness . Moreover , some instances of these phenomena are protests against CV itself . Lijphart s (1997 , 10 ) takes a contrary post , suggesting that CV may serve as an incentive [for voters] to ferment better informed A crossnational study by Gordon and Segura (1997 ) finds a small though statisticallysignificant increase in political sophistication in countries with CV but otherwise , the evidence for CV promoting greater civic awareness is scant . Another unseasoned argument along these lines is that CV leads to higher quality political campaigns i .e , under CV parties are less concerned with mobilizing partisans and more with the conversion of voters . Lijphart (1997 , 10speculates that this diminishes (a ) the role of money in political campaigns , and (b ) incentives for candidates to use attack advertising Students of Australian politics have speculated whether CV leads to higher levels of party identification than might otherwise result (Mackerras and McAl-lister 1996 , consistent with a view of voters as cognitive misers looking for heuristics to help them deal with a forced selection among parties . On the other hand , Australia s minor parties are plain beneficiaries and keen supporters of CV , since they provide an alternative for voters dissatisfied with Australia s major parties , but theless legally compelled to vote . Another long-standing feature of CV is a higher rate of invalid ballots CV does power an onus on citizens , but states with CV typically reward with institutional mechanisms reducing accordance costs (e .g , weekend voting , ease of registration , widespread use of absentee and postal ballots . accord to Gosnell (1930 , 209 ) fines and penalties under a system of compulsory voting area minor matter . The important feature of the system is that voting is regarded as a civic duty and the government does everything to instil upon voters this point of view And as a practical matter , the more serious the commitment to CV , the more bureaucratic resources are required to maintain registration records and ensure compliance . For instance , in Australia , these two sides ofCV -- the carrot and stick -- are administered by the Australian Electoral focusing (AEC , a large and highly professional bureaucracy responsible for all aspects of Australian federal elections . Ensuring compliance with CV is just one of many AEC functions , and the bulk of its activities are to do with other aspects of election institution (e .g , redistricting , voter registration , public financing of campaigns ballot aspiration , location and staffing of polling stationsvote tallying . Thus one (perhaps unintended ) consequence of CV is the centralization and professionalization of election nerve . In turn this may mitigate the dangers that accompany decentralized and non-professional election administration , clearly evident in the aftermath of the 2000 U .S . presidential electionTo conclude , mandatory voting would be a incubus to enforce and would rob us of an important barometer of public interest in politics . If everyone were required to vote , then nonexistence would be excited to vote . And , of course , there s some other downside : We d also lose all of those entertaining get-out-the-vote campaigns .Sources AEC . 1999 . Compulsory Voting . Number 8 in Electoral Backgrounder CanberraAustralian Electoral Commission Gordon , Stacy B . and Gary M . Segura . 1997 . Cross-National Variation in thePolitical Sophistication of Individuals : ability or Choice Journal of Politics59 :126--47 Hicks , Alexander M . and Duane H . Swank . 1992 . Politics , Institutions andWelfare Spending in Industrialized Democracies , 1960-82 American PoliticalScience Review 86 :658--74 Hooghe , Marc and Koen Pelleriaux . 1998 . Compulsory Voting in Belgium anApplication of the Lijphart dissertation Electoral Studies 17 :419--424 IDEA . 1997 . Voter Turnout from 1945 to 1997 : A Global Report on Political ParticipationStockholm : International build for Democracy and ElectoralAssistance...If you want to get a full essay, mold it on our website: Orderessay

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