Posted November 15, 20177 yr Some countries do it, but would it work here? Some background : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting What should be the consequence of not voting, under such a system? Edited November 15, 20177 yr by vidcapper
November 16, 20177 yr Author Some countries do it, but would it work here? Some background : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting What should be the consequence of not voting, under such a system? Do you agree that if it *was* compulsory, there should be a 'none of the above' option?
November 16, 20177 yr I'm not necessarily in favour of it in general, but I don't see why you'd need a 'none of the above' option when people are able to spoil their ballot. Automatic registration on the other hand is hugely important.
November 16, 20177 yr No, and no consequences. If people feel themselves not informed enough, or bothered enough, to vote, then that is better than putting a random cross down cos someone has a nicer smile and a hairdo.
November 16, 20177 yr Apparently in Australia you are more likely to win election if your surname begins with 'A'. Try working out why that might be...
November 18, 20177 yr Author We've had problems with names here too, of course - e.g. misleading party labels like 'Literal Democrats' and suchlike.
November 18, 20177 yr Apparently in Australia you are more likely to win election if your surname begins with 'A'. Try working out why that might be... When I was at school I read an article in a mathematics magazine about this phenomenon, known as "the donkey effect". They studied a large number of UK election results and concluded that, contrary to expectations, the best position on the ballot paper was second. Of course, the Australian system (AV), combined with compulsory voting, is probably more likely to favour candidates at the top of the ballot paper.
November 21, 20177 yr Author I'm interested as to why several of you oppose automatic registration when you reach voting age? Unless there's a compulsory voting scenario when you can be fined for not doing so, there seems no obvious reason against automatic registration. :unsure:
November 21, 20177 yr Well, there are certain reasons for some political parties - although I don't know many people on this forum who are dedicated enough to any of said parties for them to want to oppose it for that reason.
November 21, 20177 yr Author Well, there are certain reasons for some political parties - although I don't know many people on this forum who are dedicated enough to any of said parties for them to want to oppose it for that reason. But merely registering to vote doesn't align you with any political party.
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