Eligible voter turnout in the US has been declining over time, and levels have been alarmingly low in the non-presidential years in which the most partisan individuals of the electorate being the most likely to cast their votes. In the US, voter turnout in the presidential years averages between fifty and sixty percent of all the population that is of the voting age (Pinnell, Lecture, 7/5/2017). A number of observers of the politics of the nation consider that such low levels of voter turnout leads to less legislative and more polarization compromise. Compulsory voting has been considered in many occasions as a solution to the issue of a declining voter turnout on the contrary. However, there is a need to evaluate this decision through considering the effects beyond that of an increased voter turnout. This paper reports evidence of an increased voter turnout following the institution of compulsory voting, but with additional negative outcomes.
A lot of discussion concerning compulsory voting has ensued in the recent past. Particularly, in the UK, where there has been a declining voter turnout rate, most of the politicians have started advocating a mandatory participation in elections. The people that argue for this decision consider that compulsory voting usually adduces the usefulness of participation among each societal segment (Birch, 2013, pp. 42). The citizenry of democracies are forced to engage in many issues in their public interest, the politicians maintain, including educating children, serving on juries, and that a full participation would serve the entire nation. However, those opposed to this idea argue from the perspective of the democratic theory that the right to vote implicitly entails the right not to vote (Birch, 2013, pp. 43). They further posit that such a right of abstention is more critical than any other good of the society that might come with a high voter turnout. It is further considered by opponents of the compulsory voting system that the nation might be better off when the people that are disinclined to vote are left out of public issues (Birch, 2013, pp. 44). From such a perspective, therefore, the US might adopt the compulsory voting system to raise voter turnout, but must be wary of the repercussion that will come with it.
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Regardless of the levels of persuasiveness of each of the arguments, compulsory voting is popular around the globe. A number of democracies in Europe mandate voting just as Australia and most of the nations in the Caribbean region do (Birch, 2013, pp. 3). Through an evaluation of the results from such nations, it is easy to assess the mechanics that influence compulsory voting. In plain terms, as compared to nations that use compulsory voting, the rates of participation in those that have mandated the process is higher, especially when those that purpose to absent themselves from process will be punished. According to research on the decision-making processes of humans, people are bound to make decisions whose benefits outweigh the potential negatives. In this line of thought, therefore, means that making abstention costly through the institution of fines on abstainers reduces the costs of voting, which makes it more beneficial to vote.
It is proved that compulsory voting raise the rates of voter turnout means that it could be an alternative of the US, but what could be possible drawbacks of such a decision. Through the institution of such a system, the people that would normally stay away from voting as well as the entire voting population will transform in their character, which can then change the political landscape, the choices that the electorates make, and the incentives given to the politicians while hunting for votes. These dynamics could be associated with social, economic, political issues.
There are several drawbacks of compulsory voting, but this paper will only use two of the most debated around the world. First, compulsory voting is a violation of the freedom of choice (Birch, 2013, pp. 51). For a number of individuals, the right to vote does not need to be a duty, and making the process compulsory would mean transforming it into a civic duty, which greatly makes it an infringement of the fundamental freedom of choice. Some of the individuals that do not vote do so as their political expression or that they simply do not understand the process of voting. This reason also translates to the second one, which is that it fosters a trend of ignorant voting. This reason resonates well with the fact that a number of the voters in the US have been disillusioned with their political system and they might turnout in large numbers to vote ignorantly (Birch, 2013, pp. 52). Of course, a large turnout would also mean that more funds would be required to manage the elections.
In conclusion, compulsory voting improves the rate of voter turnout, which could be a solution for the US, which has been experiencing declining rates over the years. However, adopting such a decision will make voting a civic duty and not a civic right, which is an infringement on the freedom of choice. This trend could also result in ignorant voting since a section of the US electorate are unconcerned with the electoral system and do not know whom to vote. A larger voter turnout would give more people an opportunity to engage in decisions of their nation, but would also be costly.
References
Birch, S. (2013). Full participation: A comparative study of compulsory voting . Manchester University Press.
Pinnell, Lecture, 7/5/2017
