COMPULSORY VOTING IN AUSTRALIA

Australia is one of the few countries to enforce mandatory voting at federal and state elections. Only a handful of other countries: Thailand, Egypt, Belgium, North Korea and a number of South American nations enforce voting on electors. The practice has a long history in Australia, and remains relatively popular among voters, despite arguments that it infringes on personal liberty and that the fines for not voting are unfair. Although only a small number of countries have adopted the practice of mandatory voting, there were a series of strong arguments that favour it, which this article will discuss.

Australia’s federal voting authority, the Australian Electoral Commission, oversees national elections which are held every three years. Its role, according to the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918 is to “deliver the franchise: that is, an Australian citizen’s right to vote,” which includes taking the full name of each voter, giving them a ballot paper and subsequently guarding the ballot boxes, then counting all ballots at the end of election day. Around 6,000 polling booths are manned on election day. Each state has their own electoral commission, and is responsible for state elections.

It was Alfred Deakin, Australia’s second prime minister, who first advocated for compulsory voting around the turn of the twentieth century. Compulsory voting at federal elections was introduced in 1911, but enfranchisement was not universal. In Queensland, compulsory voting at a state level was legislated in 1915 by the Denham Government who advocated for “getting the vote out” but ironically lost the state election that year. In 1924, there was concern over falling voter turnout: the 1919 election saw a 71% turnout, and the 1922 election a 60% turnout. To combat this, Senator Herbert Payne from Tasmania introduced a private member’s bill in the federal House of Representatives to amend the Electoral Act of 1918. Its success was immediate, with voter turnout reaching 91% at the 1925 election. Mandatory voting was enforced at state elections over the next two decades with the last, South Australia, introducing it in 1942. Australian Aboriginals were not given the vote until 1949, and even then, it was only voluntary, only becoming compulsory thirty-five years later.

There are punishments for not casting a ballot, though they are relatively light. If a voter cannot provide a convincing reason for not voting, they will be required to pay $20 (£11) to their Divisional Returning Officer. Failure to pay the fine could result in prosecution, yet this is rare. Voters are able to cast their vote early at an official poll centre, or send their ballot via the post. For remote voters living in the vast expanse of outback Australia, mobile polling booths ensure that the duty to vote can be fulfilled.

From a Government perspective, there are key issues to be considered. Proponents of compulsory voting argue that political parties are more careful in their policy planning, taking care to encourage policies that appeal to the broad demographics and political values of the electorate. On the other hand, mandatory voting may play a role in increasing the number of safe electorates and identifying marginal electorates. This puts some electorates at risk of ‘pork barrelling’ that could lead to political parties increasing expenditure in marginal seats to woo voters. There are also those that maintain voting is a civic duty, akin to paying taxes and jury duty, but not a particularly burdensome one. Meanwhile, opponents to this argue that mandatory voting is a gross infringement of personal liberty that unjustly forces ill-informed and disinterested voters to go to the polls.

Compulsory voting ensures that a large percentage of the electorate is heard. In every election since 1928, excluding 2014, voter turnout has hovered between 91% and 96% in Australia. These figures are simply unheard of in most countries. In the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, only 63% of eligible voters cast a ballot. In the UK, similar figures were seen at the general elections that swept Cameron, May and Johnson into power. Even in the world’s largest democracy, India, 600 million eligible voters fulfilled their right to vote, yet this only constituted 67% of the electorate. Mandatory voting reduces political apathy, and requires voters to form a political opinion. This leads to more robust voting patterns, where instead of an alarming minority of voters selecting government, or the tyranny of the majority calling the shots, the entire electorate participates in the process of selecting who it is they want to govern them. Australians are clearly in favour of the practice, with the Australian Election Study reporting that mandatory voting has a 74% approval rate.

While it is every citizen’s right and duty to vote, they do not need to use their right in an appropriate way. After each election, news sources often report on ‘donkey votes’ which some voters share on social media. Often quite amusing, they can include anything from creative drawings to offensive slurs, or riffs on politicians and political parties. This practice can also include ballots whereby the voter has numbered each political candidate in ascending or descending order according to the order in which they appear on the ballot paper. It is true that if a voter does slot a ‘donkey vote’ into the ballot box, they are throwing away their vote, but they are also ensuring that the precious right to vote anonymously is protected. As such, the duty to vote is completed, and the right to freely vote anonymously is observed.

Non-Australians may perceive the enforcement of mandatory voting as a droll duty, yet there is one aspect that is deliciously alluring: the ‘democracy sausage.’ A voter can purchase a ‘democracy sausage,’which is a sausage wrapped in a piece of bread and is a classic Australian finger-food. They are often sold by local organisations as a fundraising initiative, and provide an extra incentive for voters to turn up to polling booths and do their duty. They have become embedded in Australian culture, and many voters proudly purchase one as proof they have voted, much like badges or stickers in other elections.

Compulsory voting in Australia has a long history, and it has remained popular among voters for over the last ninety years. The practice has produced remarkably high voter turnouts, as well as seen a reduction in political apathy at the polls, although this is partly helped by the truly Australian ‘democracy sausage.’ By turning mandatory voting into a civic duty, instead of just a right, Australians’ opinions are clearly heard at the polls, and the political system is all the better for it.

The importance of the ‘democracy sausage’ at Australian polling booths should never be understated.

[Credit: Stacey Fenton, Twitter.]