Should Voting be made Compulsory?

While a lot of people believe that voting should be made compulsory, many are against such a step.

Points in favor of making voting compulsory:
1. According to these people, it is important to know the opinion of the people. As voting is an integral part of the democracy, without knowing the opinion of the people, the decision regarding the government will be made by only a handful of people. On the other hand, the purpose of democracy is to avoid such a situation. Therefore, in such a case, making voting compulsory can help a lot. It will not only increase the clarity of the opinion of the people, but at the same time, it will also help the people in becoming engaged in politics of the country. A democracy loses its purpose if the people of the country do not take active part in democratic processes. At the same time, if after making voting compulsory, it turns out that a large number of people have pressed the “no vote” button during the elections, it can serve as a wake-up call for the political parties as they will realize that a large part of the population is not in agreement with their policies. However if such a system is not introduced, it means that the people are denied of their opinion.

2. A lot of people have even laid down their lives to achieve the right of voting. Similarly women suffragists have been engaged in a fight for years only to get the right to vote in many countries. However, these days, a lot of people are wasting their right to vote which shows that such an important that does not mean anything to them. These people need to know that even a single vote can make a difference. When united with others, a single vote makes a big difference for the country and its people. Therefore the persons who do not cast their vote, have forgotten about the deaths, arrests and the protests by a large number of people only to achieve the right to vote. Therefore, the least that can be done by us is to treat our boat responsibly.

3. Voting should be made compulsory also for the reason that although it is the right of the people to choose their leader, but if some persons have not taken part in this process, later on, they should not have the right to complain about the leader. The reason is that when these people have the chance and select their leader, they fail to use this chance.

4. Another argument that can be given in favor of making voting compulsory field provides that compulsory voting can be conducive for a high level of interest among the people regarding the politics of the country. For example, in countries where the general public freely talks about politics and elections with each other, a greater understanding of the politics of the country is encouraged. Although it is not a perfect system as in many cases, the voters are not completely aware of the complexities involved in the elections, however it does it reduces the chances of corporations and lobby groups taking over the government. At the same time, in case of the people who believe that making voting compulsory may take away their right not to vote, it can be said that if any person believes that in none of the candidate will be able to represent the interests of the person, such a person can press the no vote button or make his or her vote invalid in any other way.

5. It has been seen that the voter apathy is the highest in the case of the poorest sections of the society. As the people from this part of the society do not take part in voting, policies that can fulfill their needs are not made by the political parties and this in turn leads to a vicious circle which increases their isolation. When these people will also start to take part in voting, the political parties will be forced notice the requirements of these people.

6. High voter turnout is very important for the functioning of democracy and also for a proper democratic mandate. In this way, voting can be considered as a civic duty like any other duty. For example, another civic duty, Julie duty is compulsory so that the courts can function properly and in this way, it provides a strong precedent in favor of compulsory voting.

However at the same time, there are a lot of people who believe that voting should not be made compulsory. According to these people:

1. The whole idea of making voting composite does not seem to be logical. The political parties make efforts to capture the vote of the ‘working class’ also. On the other hand, the problem of low turnout in voting can be cured with the help of other methods like educating the people in this regard. For example, in order to increase voting by the people, civics classes can also be introduced. On the other hand, by including the voters who are not interested in the process, the impact of presentation will increase and it will result in further trivializing politics while the main issues will be buried under the hype.

2. At the same time, according to the people who are not in favor of making voting compulsory, just as the right to vote is a fundamental right in a democracy, equally important is the right not to vote. In this regard, people should be given a choice whether they want to vote or not. There are many people who are simply not interested in politics and therefore, such persons should not be forced to take part in the political process. In this regard, it can also be argued that the voices of the people who care more about the key issues should be heard more than the voice of the people who are not much interested in these issues. No election can have 100% voter turnout and much smaller turnout can be sufficient. People should be willing to vote in a healthy democracy, and if the people are not voting, it shows that everything is not right with the democracy. However such a problem cannot be solved by forcing the people to vote and it will only result in resentment among the people.

3. In this regard, it also needs to be noted that the failure of the people to vote needs to be considered as a powerful statement due to the reason that it decreases turnout which in turn decreases the mandate of the government. However by forcing people to cast their vote, the government can increase the size of its mandate as compared to what the people really wanted it to be. The persons who have fought for democracy also wanted that the right to vote should not be made a compulsion to vote.

4. If the people are forced to cast their vote, they will not be able to make a proper and considered decision. At best, such people will vote randomly and it will disrupt the proper course of voting. On the other hand there is a real danger that we have such people may vote for extreme parties. At the same time, the main idea behind democracy is to promote freedom of the citizens and ensure their dignity. On the other hand, the freedom of choice is violated in case voting is made compulsory. Therefore if voting is made compulsory, it may result in random voting and at the same time, it may also result in political instability. For example, the people who are not aware of the politics of the country cannot be expected to make appropriate decisions while voting for the country.

5. The idea of making voting compulsory does not appear to be feasible. For example if a large part of the population decides that they are not going to vote, it will be impossible to make every person who has not voted, pay a fine. For example if only 10% of the voters failed to exercise their right to vote, the government will have to run after millions of people to click the fine. Even if demand letters are sent to all these people, all the people who refuse to pay the fine cannot be taken to courts.

6. In this regard, it needs to be noted that there are many people who cannot vote because they are busy and find it difficult to take the time off for voting. By introducing compulsory voting, these people cannot be made to vote because they are in reality unable to cast their vote.