Compulsory Voting !

Australia is one of the few countries in the world that insists that its citizens record a vote at elections or face a fine for not discharging that duty.   The founding fathers evidently thought that  choosing the people who make the laws we are obliged to obey was a civic duty required of every citizen on or above the age of maturity.

A long time ago, the age of maturity was deemed to be twenty-one.  That was also the age that drinking alcohol became legal and when the Vietnam war required young Australian men to face a lottery at age eighteen and be handed a rifle and sent to war, but not permitted to either vote or have a beer - that age of maturity was seriously questioned.   It was then lowered to eighteen.

Compulsory voting applies to all levels of public office.   We are required to front the voting booths to choose the person who will represent us in the Federal parliament in Canberra and again when we choose the composition of the parliament for the state or territory in which we live.  We go to the polls once again to select the members of the town or city council which will govern civic affairs.

Those who fail to vote or at least have their presence marked off on voting day will eventually receive a fine notice in the mail.  This  " Apparent failure to vote " notice requires them to either pay a $ 55 fine or supply a valid excuse - or challenge the fine in court.   It seems that this failure to vote was prevalent at the recent round of council elections.

This was at a time of many council mergers and it is a common claim that some voters were confused by the extended jurisdiction and did not realise that it now included their responsibility.  400,000 failure to vote notices were sent out after the 2017 council elections, netting the NSW Electoral Commission  $ 3.7 million in fines.

Valid excuses for failing to vote include medical illness, absence out of the area or a range of reasons that may be accepted by the Electoral Commission.  Many people simply mail in their $55 cheque and accept the fine.

Countries where voting is not compulsory find that a host of matters influence the turnout.  The weather may induce many people to stay at home and whether the issues interest voters has a big influenced on voting patterns.  In some instances as few as fifty percent of those eligible to vote bother casting a ballot.  Such elections do not deliver the true will of the people.

One of the justifications of this compulsory vote in Australia is the claim that the voters receive the government they deserve - because whoever is elected achieves office by universal franchise.  In other countries, issues of critical importance are often decided by a mere fraction of the numbers who are eligible to vote.   That Brexit vote in Britain falls into that category.

Much as we complain about compulsory voting, this quick and easy procedure on voting day does justify the choice of who governs this country.  We pride ourselves that our voting system delivers a result free of ballot box stuffing and the vote rigging prevalent in other parts of the world.

Optional voting is the law in the United States, and perhaps that explains the election of Donald Trump !