MANDATORY VOTING

In many countries the percentage of the voting population is a lot lower than the one of the actual
population and this phenomenon is called abstention. In some politicians' eyes making voting
mandatory seems to be the only solution to this problem. But why should we opt for such a drastic
option ?
To begin with, If the voting is made mandatory it will ensure that the population will be represented
by a majority of the government. Accordingly, the parliament will reflect more accurately the will
of the population and, as a consequence, it will limit the voices of the extremists by preventing
political leaders to claim greater legitimacy. An example is Australia where turnout rates are often
above 93%. This country is the living example that compulsory voting is actually a great way to
fight the abstention, for the percentage of voters increased after 1924, when voting was made
mandatory. Furthermore, Australia’s far right and left politicians lack anything like the power of its
European or American counterparts and that is one reason why australia hasn't had any extreme
governments.
Secondly, it will create a sense of civil education and stimulation, which creates a better informed
population. The voters are motivated to better educate themselves, for if they are obliged to vote
every election, they will most likely want to make the best out of the situation. The citizens will be
willing to inform themselves about bad policies, and take then out of the government. Therefore,
Mandatory voting leads to better legislation that is passed in the community, and because of that,
makes a positive impact on society.

Ultimately, compulsory voting leads to a better representation of minorities. Often people that are of
the upper class, either by economical, educational, or social gains, vote more than people that are
not in these upper classes do. Because they vote more often, this leads to a recurring circle that
leads to the disenfranchisement of the lower class, and the disrepresentation of them. The rich will
have higher amounts of representation in their local legislatures and public offices, and that means
that minority groups that do not vote often do not have someone that is able to listen to their needs.
Compulsory voting could be a solution for it forces the lower class (socially lower, economically
lower, or educationally lower) to vote, and thus have more representation. Another evidence is the
fact that in all democracies around the world apathy is highest among the poorest and most excluded
sectors of society. For they do not vote, political parties do not create campaigns for their needs, which
leads to a vicious circle of increasing isolation. By making everyone vote, the political parties are forced to
take notice of every voter.

After all the strong reasons I provided you, mandatory voting doesn't appear as drastic anymore. Even if it
is a debatable argument, after having seen the benefits, it's obvious that making voting compulsory is
actually a solution not only to the abstention problem, but also to the extremists parties and to
discrimination.