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Since the beginning of the 18th century, there has been a struggle to expand the electorate in many countries in order to include all citizens in the voting process. Many criteria have been used throughout history to exclude persons from the electorate, such as property, religion, sex, age, race, education, and class. Currently, most democratic governments consider participation in national elections to be a right of citizenship. Many believe that participation in elections is a citizen's civic responsibility. In some countries, where voting is considered a duty, voting has been made compulsory and has been regulated in national constitutions and electoral laws. Some even go as far as to impose sanctions on non-voters. However, to force citizens to vote is an action equally unjust to disallowing certain citizens to vote, for compulsory voting leads to voters making uninformed decisions, and undermines the ideology behind the ballot system.

According to James Madison, "the ultimate authority resides in the people alone," and by making voting mandatory, governments deprive citizens of this sense of influence and choice. Consequently, compulsory voting is by no means consistent with the freedom associated with democracy. Voting is not an intrinsic obligation, and the enforcement of laws coercing citizens to vote is an infringement of the citizens' freedom associated with democratic elections. It may discourage the political education of the electorate because people forced to participate will react against the perceived source of oppression. Thus, is a government really more legitimate if the high voter turnout is against the will of the voters? It has been proven that forcing the population to vote results in an increased number of invalid and blank votes compared to countries without compulsory voting laws. If voting becomes mandatory, some people may make uninformed decisions. Voters who are voting against their free will may check off a candidate at random, particularly the top candidate on the ballot. The voter does not care whom they vote for as long as the government is satisfied that they have fulfilled their civic duty. It is impossible to determine the effect that this immeasurable category of random votes may have on the legitimacy of the democratically elected government.

It is therefore essential that nations be composed of informed and motivated citizens concerning political matters. Thus, it is clear that societies must make the voting process more accessible to the nation's electorate rather than simply forcing citizens to vote. Governments must educate the population regarding the nation's respective political process and the value of voting. Clearly, it is best to address the current deficiencies regarding the voting process by implementing many non-controversial changes in the operation of the vote that would help to slowly build the voting base to an acceptable level, for it is obvious that voters subjected to the compulsory vote become disenfranchised and alienated, with good reason. Thus, compulsory voting infringes on citizen's rights, and creates political apathy and unrest. Therefore, if given the choice, I would vote against the travesty of compulsory voting.

Learn more about this author, Genevieve Ellis.
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