by Iowaprodigal

Created on: December 02, 2007   Last Updated: December 12, 2010

With an election year on the horizon in the United States, political pundits are clamoring for election reform. Elections in 2000 and 2004 produced unclear results, relatively low voter turnout, and a growing dissension with the American voting system. Compulsory voting legally requiring every citizen of a democracy to vote has seen a recent upsurge in popularity as reformers call for the United States to adopt the measure. Although compulsory voting has been used with varying success in thirty-odd nations worldwide, it will provide no significant benefit for the American political process.

Australia is often held up as a model of the success of compulsory voting. Although voting turnout commonly reaches the ninetieth percentile for Australia, its model cannot be applied haphazardly to any nation. In the 2004 elections, the United States had 124 million voters (60% turnout) compared to Australia's 12 million voters (94% turnout), and would be the largest country to try the compulsory voting model to date. The unprecedented scale, in conjunction with the struggle of registering millions of new voters, would make compulsory voting difficult to successfully implement.

Keeping in mind that the United States has more than ten times the voting population of Australia, the financial cost for the two nations is vastly different. Since it costs the Australian government roughly five dollars for every ballot they evaluate, the greater number of voters in America would exponentially increase bureaucratic costs.

Additionally, the political system in America is concentrated in two parties, with only minor successes of alternate parties. These two parties, as opposed to eight competitive parties in Australia, spend millions of dollars annually encouraging their members to vote in elections. With the implementation of compulsive voting, the political parties would instead spend those millions trying to convince non-party members of the superiority of their respective positions. Instead of saving money, the two parties would only increase in power as more members join their folds, reducing the power of smaller parties to democratically compete.

Voting is a chance for citizens to influence their government, key to the United States' democratic tradition. However, in today's political climate, citizens are likewise influenced through popular media, bloggers, and so-called grassroots organizations. Special interest groups, such as unions, co-ops, and businesses, play the largest single role in determining candidate or party success through financial support and public endorsements. The idea that the American citizen will take the time to sufficiently research potential candidates is idealistic, and instead those same citizens will take only their media-spawned prejudices to the voting booth. Responsible democratic voting will become even less likely.

The controversy surrounding compulsory voting is not likely to disappear. For many, it vastly improves democracy by increasing voter participation. Even a brief investigation, however, demonstrates that the benefits of compulsory voting in America's unique political situation are minimal. Instead, tangible financial costs, combined with the intangible results of limiting political competition and individual responsibility, leave compulsory voting an incomplete solution with little benefit to America's political process.

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