- Sticks, Carrots, Donkey Votes, and True Choice: Abolishing Compulsory Voting in Australia Archived Message
Posted by Der
on December 14, 2019, 2:20 pm
|
(PDF) Sticks, Carrots, Donkey Votes, and True Choice: A Rationale for Abolishing Compulsory Voting in Australia "In 1992, the Commonwealth of Australia prosecuted an Aborigine lawyer named Michael Mansell for failing to comply with a compulsory voting law.2 He was ordered to pay a fine or face three days in prison.3 Outside the courthouse, Mansell proclaimed that he would not pay the fine because he was "a member of the aboriginal nation and not the Australian one."4 In 1999, Melissa Manson of Victoria, Australia, was jailed for contempt of court after refusing "on principle" to pay fines punishing her failure to vote in two federal elections.5 "[T]here were no candidates worth voting for," she explained. 6 In May 2004, Bill Smithies was arrested for failure to pay a non-voting fine of $461.7 These sanctions can be imposed in the Commonwealth of Australia because eligible citizens have a legal duty to vote.8" ... "Australia's compulsory voting law is incompatible with democracy because it stifles the expression of political dissent. Furthermore, the current law punishes only those who fail to attend the polls, not those who intentionally spoil their ballot or cast a blank one. Though voter turnout likely will decrease in the wake of abolishing compulsory voting in Australia, restoring voluntary voting will strengthen democracy by allowing voters to make a true choice on Election Day." https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1107&context=mjil |
| Message Thread:
|