In the lead up to the next federal election, which will be held sometime before May 18, 2019, there will be no celebrities telling you to vote.
You will not have the importance of voting explained to you by Chris Hemsworth or Lisa Wilkinson or Jen-something who you went to high school with a few decades ago.
When you do vote, you won’t receive a ‘I Voted’ sticker to wear proudly on your chest.
Australia has never done all of that.
Because in Australia, voting is not a right afforded to a citizen. It’s a responsibility expected of them.
In 1912, a decision was made, which fundamentally shaped the course of our history.
When drafting the bill for compulsory voting, Senator George Pearce said: “Too often [voting] is looked upon merely as a privilege, because people throughout the world have had to fight for it – in some instances under distressing conditions … but I venture to say that in a country like Australia, where we recognise that every man and woman should have the right to vote, that right becomes more than a privilege – it becomes a duty.”
Compulsory voting, history tells us, is critical to a fair election.
When a population is given the choice, the extremes are over-represented; those angry enough to get to the booths. Then there are the wealthy, the older, the urban, and the well-educated.
Underrepresented, unsurprisingly, are the low-paid. The disempowered. The isolated and the disadvantaged. Those who can’t get time off work, because their country mandates they vote in the middle of a work week – on a Wednesday.
And that is hardly by accident.
Former President Barack Obama said, “There’s a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls…”
If you can control who votes, then, to some extent, you can control the outcome of an election.
There are only 10 countries on the planet who enforce compulsory voting, and we are one of them.
Our history is far from perfect. To be clear, when voting was made ‘compulsory’ in 1912, that did not include our Indigenous population. True compulsory voting was therefore not fairly implemented until 1984 – 72 years later.
Who votes, simply, determines who matters.
While the United States attempts to stir up momentum and convince their population to turn up to the ballot box – Australia has already made their decision.
A politician’s victory or loss should not be determined by turnout. And in some nations around the world, it is.
As the results for the midterm elections flow in, I can’t help but think: Thank you Australia, for a decision made more than a century ago.
Top Comments
Do you know why we don't have compulsory voting in the USA, and probably never will? Because it's illegal under our Constitution. Not just "not legal" in the "not authorized" sense, or "not codified into law" sense, but illegal in that it is an actual crime to force people to vote. Given our current guarantee of free speech, no compulsory voting law will ever pass Constitutional muster without an amendment to our Constitution.
Here's a history lesson for all you people in Australia, scratching your confirmation biased heads (our Aussie way is the best way for everyone, because our way works for us, and is therefore the best way for everyone).
The right to vote is a part of the right of self-determination. God, or Nature if you prefer, gave the right of self-determination to man, not kings, presidents, laws or mobs. Voting allows someone to have a say in his self-determination. These acts, therefore, are God-granted rights, not man-granted privileges.
There are many reasons that people don't vote. One very important reason is a moral one. Voting allows the winners to impose their will on the losers, by force, if necessary, at the bad end of the boom-stick. Some people do not think that their rights extend to the imposition of their values on other people by force. And make no mistake, voting is the velvet glove on the iron fist. It is force personified.
So what has all of this have to do with Free Speech? Voting is an act of speech, as it allows the expression of an opinion. Not voting is also the expression of an opinion, which is the right not to speak. Our Supreme Court has already ruled that the right to Free Speech includes the right to shut-up, so compulsory speech cannot be made into law.
Vote yes? That's your opinion, and expressing your opinion is free speech.
Vote no? That's also your opinion, and expressing your opinion is free speech.
Not voting? This is also the expression of an opinion, although what that opinion is, is not as clear cut as the other two are, but is, nonetheless, free speech.
Now, as to why we don't vote on weekends, here's my take. This is just speculation, but it fits the available facts. First of all, the early USA was a very pious country, so Sunday was just plain out. As voters often had to travel to get to their voting precinct, starting after Sunday, and then back, that is, home before Sunday, days which butted up against Sunday, namely Saturday and Monday were also definitely out. The only Federal elections which have a defined day, are for the house of Representatives, the vote for which is held the first Tuesday after November 1, in even years. All the other elections are generally held at this time. Tuesday allows travel after Sunday, time to vote, maybe a little post-election ho-down party, with voters being back home before the next Sunday. As a large percentage of voters were farmers, travel and voting during the week usually was not a hardship, as the voter's family would stay home to work the farm.
It's kind of a hardship today, but tradition dies hard, and anything really worth something is worth shedding a little sweat to obtain it.
And don't talk to me about gerrymandering. Both Republicans and Democrats do it. Use your grape, and some logic: if only Republicans did it, Democrats would never win any significant numbers of elections.
Oh here is the typical Ugly American come in to say that the American way is the only way. Look at the mess your country is in, so don't dare lecture us.
You are deeply confused. NOT voting allows the winners unfettered right to force themselves, by default. Because if enough people don't vote, then you get a govt BY DEFAULT, which by all definition, is a dictatorship. Not voting means you get a government by default, a govt chosen by say, around 19% of the country. That, is a dictatorship. Only when there are full voting numbers, ie most of the country voting, is the govt valid. So your argument is actually back to front. Voting is the basic of a democracy, it is the basis of freedom. If you choose not to exercise that, then you choose to have a dictatorship, a despot, an iron fist. In addition, morally it is a requirement to vote. If we all live in society, we all have a moral obligation to contribute to it. Ever heard the saying
Rights connote duties? It is true. There is no freedom without duties. Some things you do because you have to. In a society, even a free one, voting is or should be a MORAL OBLIGATION.
"Not voting is also the expression of an opinion, which is the right not to speak."
Then if you don't contribute to your society and government by not voting, you forfeit the right to complain about your govt. If you don't vote, don't complain then. Because you chose to be 'silent', so you must continue on with that silence for the term of the govt. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain. Very simple really.
You forgot to mention that you can draw a penis on your voting form and it doesn't void your vote! Best system in the world!!