In New Zealand only 6% of people are not registered to vote and under 1% vote informally. This leaves their voter turnouts at around 78% – higher than ours. Also, 100% of New Zealand voters vote voluntarily. They vote because they want to vote, not because their government forces them to.
Most democracies in the world do not enforce compulsory voting like we do here in Australia. Enforced compulsory voting is extremely rare. Many other countries with voluntary voting also have higher voter turnouts than we do, including Sweden, Malta, Iceland, and Denmark.
We tend to assume that if Australians are not forced to attend the polls, our voter turnouts will plummet. We think people only vote to avoid a $50 fine.
Some people say ‘compulsory attendance’ reminds us of value of democracy by forcing us to engage with the process. But it does the complete opposite. It encourages people to completely disengage with the free thought process required when one decides to vote. It encourages blind conformity.
Our decision to vote should be democratic. And this democratic choice is an important test of a politician’s ability to lead, and motivate people to engage with the process—both physically and mentally. It is easier for leaders to ‘lead’ when they have the force of law behind them, but leading people who are free to choose is not so simple. The electorate can simply switch off.
If voting were voluntary, political leaders would need to inspire the electorate and earn trust. They would need to wake people up, spark people’s imaginations, and motivate the electorate to participate. Compulsory voting doesn’t empower people; it oppresses them.
On polling day, if we simply do nothing we can be fined. And if we continue to do nothing we can be jailed. They punish us for doing absolutely nothing, and nothing wrong. They steal our freedom away to teach us the value of freedom. The trouble is, their version of freedom is not really freedom at all.
Of course, freedom cannot be mandatory because then it ceases to be freedom. And Australians have learnt this lesson very well. We have learnt the lesson that in Australia, freedom is not freedom. Freedom doesn’t exist.
In the absence of freedom, we have come to assume that government is the answer to all our problems. The individual is not capable of growing, learning, or changing; only government intervention can save the day. If we gamble, drink, smoke, or don’t vote, it’s not our fault – it’s the government’s fault. It’s all the government’s fault. The government is like the puppet master and we’re the puppets – unthinking, irresponsible, pawns. Helpless victims living under the all-powerful (god-like) force of government.
If voting were voluntary people would come to learn the true value and meaning of democracy, which is freedom, because our leaders would need to promote this, in order to win votes. And if they can’t, better leaders would emerge to take their place. Real leaders. Democratic leaders.
Under voluntary voting, Australia’s real voter turnouts could rise to the levels of New Zealand, Sweden, Malta, Denmark, or Iceland. More importantly, we would have 100% voluntary turnouts, far higher than our current levels.
The Australian spirit will shine more brightly under a free electoral system, so in this instance we should fall into line with the rest of the democratic world and reintroduce voluntary voting. All that is required is a vote in parliament. No constitutional change or referendum.
The sooner we realize the true meaning of democracy, and the true value of freedom, the sooner all of our lives will grow and flourish, because we will begin to reclaim decisions that have been stolen from us. We will become more accountable to ourselves, and our own lives.
Any nation who believes freedom can and should be mandatory, doesn’t understand what democratic freedom is, and that may be even more tragic than not being free in the first place.
Jason Kent administers the facebook groups Free Our Right To Vote, or Eureka Freedom Rally. (originally posted November 13, 2011 on Menzies House)
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