{"id":3833,"date":"2016-12-16T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-12-16T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/?p=3833"},"modified":"2021-04-23T16:36:21","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T14:36:21","slug":"compulsory-voting-pro-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/compulsory-voting-pro-cons","title":{"rendered":"Compulsory Voting: Pro and Con"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With its numerous referendums, Switzerland is regarded as the model democratic state. However, a relative low number of citizens use this method of influencing politics directly. Previous referendums have had a voter turnout of around 30%.\u00a0That is why the Swiss, as well as other countries, are thinking about introducing compulsory voting. In this part of our series, we have collected and summarized the advantages and disadvantages to this proposal.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Pro compulsory voting<\/h3>\n<p>There is no denying that the advantages are obvious:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The voter turnout increases. In all countries where compulsory voting is in place, turnout increased. In Australia, where not voting is punished, voter turnout is at 90%.<\/li>\n<li>It works against political apathy because everybody has to form their own opinion.<\/li>\n<li>Compulsory voting prevents the influence of the few who participate on the election results of becoming too strong.<\/li>\n<li>It contributes to the stability of the government since political apathy and a low voter turnout are threats for democracy &#8211; for more info click\u00a0<span style=\"color: #738f9b;\"><a style=\"color: #738f9b;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/non-voters-threaten-democracy\">here<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li>A high turnout reduces the financial expenditure for election campaigns. This is how the influence of donors on parties and politicians is decreased.<\/li>\n<li>Voting is a democratic and moral duty, so why shouldn&#8217;t it be directly written in law?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #738f9b;\"><a style=\"color: #738f9b;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.polyas.com\/online-voting\/advantages-online-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Read more about the advantages of online voting!<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Con compulsory voting<\/h3>\n<p>Still, there are arguments against introducing a law:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The introduction would\u00a0violate personal freedom and\u00a0personal rights.<\/li>\n<li>Not voting can also be a political statement. A law would prevent it.<\/li>\n<li>Compulsory voting is not a cure to domestic policy crises. If someone is unsatisfied with the state and system, they will deny voting despite their electoral duty.<\/li>\n<li>Non-voters have to be punished consistently so that compulsory voting makes sense. A symbolic electoral duty is less useful. This poses the question of practicality, since pursuing non-voters costs money and time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With its numerous referendums, Switzerland is regarded as the model democratic state. However, a relative low number of citizens use this method of influencing politics directly. Previous referendums have had a voter turnout of around 30%.\u00a0That is why the Swiss, as well as other countries, are thinking about introducing compulsory voting. In this part of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":7847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","ub_ctt_via":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[88],"tags":[952,840,836,842],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/compulsory-voting.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Jaqueline Bargmann","author_link":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/author\/j-bargmann"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Compulsory voting pro and cons: the arguments explained<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many countries discuss introducing compulsory voting. 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Suffrage is one of the highest commodities in democracy. A commodity, which many citizens see as natural. Therefore, some countries introduced compulsory voting, in some it is discussed. An example is Switzerland, which is on the one hand admired\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Voter-turnout&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3827,"url":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/compulsory-voting-foreign-countries","url_meta":{"origin":3833,"position":1},"title":"Compulsory Voting in Foreign Countries: Only in Authoritarian States?","date":"11\/12\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In Germany, voting is a right which citizens can refuse to exercise. However, in other countries, it is compulsory. In the second part of our series, we present these countries and explain the consequences on society. There are currently 30 countries worldwide where voting is compulsory. These include Brazil, Turkey,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Voter-turnout&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5017,"url":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/mandatory-voting","url_meta":{"origin":3833,"position":2},"title":"Voter Participation: For and Against Mandatory Voting","date":"17\/05\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Mandatory\u00a0voting is a much-debated topic whenever elections roll around. There are a number of countries around the world that require their citizens to show up at the polls on election day. In this installment of our blog series on voter participation, we discuss the arguments for and against compulsory voting.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Voter-turnout&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Online Voting Political Elections","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Voting-Age.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3533,"url":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/non-voters-voter-turnout","url_meta":{"origin":3833,"position":3},"title":"Non-Voters: How Can you Increase Voter Turnout?","date":"27\/10\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many studies have attempted\u00a0to find out who the non-voters are and what motivates them. All this information is gathered in order to find a solution to increase voter turnout. There is no ultimate solution for a high voter turnout. In Germany, for example, voters have the right to vote and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Voter-turnout&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"non-voters: part of democracy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/SeriesNonVoters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4939,"url":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/lowering-voting-age","url_meta":{"origin":3833,"position":4},"title":"Voter Participation: The Case for Lowering the Voting Age","date":"03\/05\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Voter participation is the backbone of democracy. It gives leaders and governments the legitimacy they require in order to make policy decisions. On the flip side, when voters stay away from the polls, the foundation of democracy itself is eroded. In our next blog series, we cast our eye over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Voter-turnout&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Online Voting Political Elections","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Voting-Age.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3614,"url":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/increasing-voter-turnout\/non-voters-threaten-democracy","url_meta":{"origin":3833,"position":5},"title":"Do Non-Voters Threaten Democracy?","date":"15\/12\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In North America, voting is not compulsory. In a democracy, individuals can decide for themselves if they make use of their right to vote. Still, non-voters are often in the media focus. Newspapers report about the voter turnout in elections even on Election Day. 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