Marian Radu Bunea

SPE III

Compulsory voting
Democracy provides citizens with the right to officially express the choice for a
decision made in their society. When the purpose of voting is to elect a leader for a
community, the outcomes vary because of a few factors influencing the members of the
society. A serious democratic problem is the low voter turnout, a downward trend
applicable to most of the democratic countries1.
Turnout appears to be declining everywhere. The problem of inequality can be
solved by institutional mechanisms that maximise turnout. One option is the combination of
voter-friendly registration rules, proportional representation, infrequent elections, weekend
voting and holding less salient elections concurrently with the most important national
elections. The other option, which can maximise turnout by itself, is compulsory voting.2
Two basic democratic ideals are political participation and political equality, in theory
both being compatible but the reality shows that the participation is unequal. The
participation can be measured based on three blocs of variables in order to resolve the
problem of the low voter turnout and unequal participation. The socio-economic
environment, institutions and party systems are the variables providing information to
study the turnout in democratic elections.3
The socio-economic environment is an important factor that influences the
participation but it is not decisive in regards of measuring and naming the cause of the
democratic problem of low voter turnout. To get people involved in politics, they have to
have their basic needs satisfied otherwise they withdraw from the political life in order to
focus on their maintenance. Verba, Schlozman and Brady mention how voting is the least
demanding form of political activity4 . and the fact that this activity does not require great
civic skills. Taking in consideration a larger social environment, the civic skills are not the
most important factor in voting turnout but illiteracy is the one significantly reducing the
voting activity in a society. In the same large socio-economic environment, population
density can also be a factor, as a low density zone implies people spread on a larger
territory which implies that a group pressure cannot be easily applied to the community
which will depress the turnout. Population is affecting the turnout not only through density
but also with numbers, a bigger community leads to a distant and less personal political life
where the members of the society are not in a direct connection with the runners for the

Arend LIJPHART, Unequal Participation Democracys Unresolved Dilemma, Presidential Address,

American Political Science Association, 1996 p.1
2

ibidem 1

Andre BLAIS & Agnieszka DOBRZYNSKA, Turnout in Electoral Democracies, in European

Journal of Political Research 33, 1998, p 239
4

idem 3, p 242

positions that they elect, this explaining a higher voter turnout in societies with a lower
population.
In conclusion at the base of the socio-economic environment is the illiteracy which
at a higher rate it lowers the voting participation. If this condition is passed the participation
is after that lowered in the cases where the citizens are affected by the standards of living,
where a person is not easily able to meet his basic needs the political life will be less
interesting and so the political participation will be lowered. Looking into this bloc of
variables as a whole, population is affecting the turnout in different manners, a big country
will have a smaller turnout while a smaller one is easier to engage into voting, the same
happening in the case of density, taking in consideration the help of a group pressure
happening less in a low density surrounding.
Being a political action, voting implies following electoral laws this meaning that the
turnout is also influenced by the institutional setting. Voting age is an important factor of
the institutional settings as a lower voting age usually implies a smaller turnout. Young
voters are less inclined to vote based on the fact that their experience and exposure to the
political life are lower although the social environment is influencing this turnout factor by
implementing civic skills education since school so every voter to be guided towards
participation.5
An important factor rising the turnout level is mandatory voting, with big results in
countries where this is applied. The law for mandatory voting has great results both in
countries with high standards of living but also in those with low standards even if the law
exists but it is not enforced in all of the countries.
Even with the socio-economic environment and the institutional settings taken in
consideration the voter turnout cannot be precisely determined and also controlled.
Because a citizen is happier when he has opportunity to choose, another important
factor influencing the participation at a voting act is the party system. Offering the electors
a chance to make a choice between multiple parties and candidates is definitely
influencing the turnout, but this raises a problem of its own leaving aside the socioeconomic environment and the institutional setting. A high number of choices would
normally raise the turnout as participants are allowed to make a specific choice which will
suit their needs and desires, but it must be took in consideration the fact that a greater
number of choices will lead to a much more complex voting system and will also raise the
difficulty for the electors to make up their mind. Also having too many parties running in the
election process will usually lead to a coalition in the end usually created by the
participating parties not exactly by the people will, and this will mean a lower voting turnout
as the electors will not have the certainty that their will is fully respected. 6
Studying the turnout level based on the three blocs of variables it is easily noticed
that the voting participation is influenced by a great number of factors such as : degree of
illiteracy, economic development, voting age, population size and density, compulsory
voting and enforcing it, the electoral outcome, the electoral system and number of parties.
All of these factors are solely influencing the turnout value in small proportions, but
combining and controlling all of them will lead to a higher voter turnout.
It is complicated to control all of the factors at once so a society is to imply new
actions towards their system in order to make a difference in their voting turnout.
5

idem 3, p 245

idem 3, pp 248-249

To get a better understanding of the people will, democratic systems want a higher
voter turnout so by casting a vote, everybody could express their willings and needs. By
obliging the population to vote will make the electors feel constrained and the act of voting
will change from a right to an obligation and by this mean the result of an election could be
distorted.
The masses can be easily educated to think they are part of their country and can
influence the path that it is following through other means and not through laws like
mandatory voting. As noticed, there are a few countries in which the voting is mandatory
and just a few of them are also enforcing the law. A bigger influence towards the voting
turnout would be reducing the level of illiteracy. Educating people can raise the outcome of
voting in many ways, not only by raising the participation but also by raising the efficiency
of voting. An educated citizen will not vote only because he has the right and possibility to
do it but also because he has specific requirements from the elected parties or members.
By making an informed and educated choice the outcome will also be more accurate
which will raise the voting turnout by showing the others that have not participated at the
voting act the fact that their needs can be satisfied by taking part in the political life.
Also by raising the life standards people will have enough time to involve into the
political life not only by benefiting of their rights but also by being informed and educated in
this direction. Again an educated choice will make the outcome more accurate and
influence the society as a whole to take part in the voting act.
It is complicated for a country to imply new rules as citizens can understand the
new regulations as restrictions to what they were used to, so for example by making voting
compulsory can determine the members of the society to pay more attention to respecting
the new regulation than to benefit and express their right to vote in order to decide the path
that they want to follow as a community.
Compulsory voting is a regulation that if implied will raise the voting turnout to a
small extent and usually is followed by side effects like dissatisfaction of the electors.
There are other factors that can be controlled in voting manners in order to influence the
turnout without affecting the population in a negative way from any perspective. By
implying regulations people tend to think that they must follow them and will not fill that it
could by only a regulation for a normal behaviour of an educated member of a community,
so for a small influence towards the turnout of a voting act the price of dissatisfaction or
other negative side effects towards to society will not balance. But by educating the
population and providing the necessities for their basic requirements for a decent life a
system will not risk raising masses against it and will affect the voter turnout to a higher
extent and also raise their socio-economic environment.

Bibliography

LIJPHART, Arend, Unequal Participation Democracys Unresolved Dilemma, Presidential

Address, American Political Science Association, 1996
BLAIS, Andre & DOBRZYNSKA, Agnieszka Turnout in Electoral Democracies, in European
Journal of Political Research , 1998

BINZER HOBOLT, Sara Europe and the Ballot: Voting Behaviors in Referendum of
European Integration, Cambridge University, September 2003