- Question
Should voting in elections be mandatory?
Countries like Australia have mandatory voting to increase political participation. In the face of growing public disillusionment with politics and a substantial amount of the adult populace who refuse to vote in elections, should voting be mandatory?
Voting should be mandatory
This position holds that voting should be compulsory. It argues that citizens owe the state political participation, that voting is a public good, and that mandatory voting would raise turnout and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the resulting government.
Voting should not be mandatory
This position holds that voting should not be compulsory. It argues that the state has no right to force political participation, that a meaningful vote is one freely chosen, and that compulsion would simply lead many to pay a fine rather than vote sincerely.