I’ve read that voting is compulsory in your countries, but I don’t know what happens if you don’t vote. Is it true that there’s a $20 AUD fine? How often is that imposed?
Hm…on second thought, this is probably GQ material.
Here is a page with some information on compulsory voting.
I can’t remember off the top of of my head what the penalty for not voting is - before you mentioned the $20, I thought it was either a $50 or $100 penalty. IIRC, a woman actually went to jail several years ago because she refused to vote.
I just checked this page, which seems to be some sort of school assignment.
I have no idea how often the penalty is imposed though. I know we did get a letter from the AEC awhile back because my mother didn’t vote, but the penalty was withdrawn because she had a valid reason.
In Australia, it is compulsory to vote. It is not however, compulsory to vote for somebody. You can leave your ballot blank, scrawl obscenities on it, or do whatever you like so long as you get your name marked off the list of electors, and place your folded ballot paper in the box.
Yep, you have to show up and get your name ticked off The List (if you’re away from home, you can vote absentee, or prepoll etc). As TLD says, you don’t have to register a valid vote.
The fine starts out at $20. Pay it straight away and you’re done with it. Leave it, and it escalates. I wound up paying $165, IIRC, for not voting at one election.
It is horribly patchy, though, because there’s at least one other election at which I didn’t vote and I didn’t get a letter or anything (the “not voting” thing was my youthful and stupid protest against the quality of candidates in my electorate. I’m over that now).
This was my first year voting and I was so excited … I taught a 50 year old guy how to vote and practically skipped to the ballot box. The SO on the other hand, got his name ticked off and slipped an empty ballot paper into the box. And I think one year, my Politics teacher voted, but took her paper with her because there was no clause saying she had to put the paper inside the box.
Thanks, folks. I find this really interesting. I wonder how people in the US would respond to mandatory voting? I’m sure it would be amusing to listen to the arguments. Initiative and referendum would really mean something then.
Also, you’re not obligated to vote if it goes against your beliefs (Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, don’t believe in voting).
They don’t? Why not?
There’s sure quite a lot they don’t believe in.
And although I snidely commented on your voting in another thread, this is just what I did. I took the ballot papers and began folding them up at the table. The woman said “Uh, you’re meant to mark your votes first”, I replied “No-one deserves it”. Every way I could think of voting was anethema.
The fine is $20 if paid or an excuse offered within 21 days. It then becomes $50 plus court costs.
And here I was thanking God I’m not 18 until next February, and it turns out I didn’t have to vote for any of them? Well, unless the parties get some real candidates next time, that’s exactly what I’m doing…
I’m not a Belgian, but indeed, vote is mandatory in Belgium too. You can be fined (for a tiny amount) if you don’t.
Personnally, I disagree with this rule. You could be unwilling to even participate (as opposed to just casting a blank vote if you dislike all the candidates), for various resons (say, you’re supporting an absolute monarchy, or are an anarchist, or are opposed to the way the elections are organized, or think that there should not be an united Belgium state, but two entities, etc…). So, I don’t agree with the concept of mandatory vote.
Of course, at least, an elected official has a more obvious legitimacy when 99% of people actually voted.
Just curious…if you don’t vote, and you offer the excuse “I was sick that day,” would that fly, or would they require a doctor’s authentication?
There are allowances made for illness, ie mobile polling places visit hospitals and nursing homes. Short term illness (ie you’ve got a stomach bug and you don’t dare move more than ten feet from the loo) would probably be an accepted reason.
You also don’t have to vote (although you’re encouraged to) if you’re overseas.
The Australian Electoral Commission’s faq may answer your questions.
Technically, all you have to do to prove that you have voted is to get your name marked off the electoral roll and take the ballot papers.
You could then go to the booth, do nothing but stand there for 30 seconds, and then take the unmarked ballot papers to the ballot boxes, and the Australian Electoral Commission will be none the wiser!
Presto, you don’t get fined and none of the bastards get your vote! Works for me! 
Compulsory voting? Sounds awful to me. Participating should be a right but not an obligation. Where’s the right to be left alone and the right to disagree and not participate? BTW, is (was) voting compulsory in the Soviet Union and other communist countries?
I agree.
If a person has no desire to vote for whatever reason, or they’re lazy/uninformed/apathetic, then I don’t want them to vote.
As others in this thread have shown, voting isn’t compulsory. Showing up and having your name marked off the list is compulsory. What you do with that form is your business.
It’s also compulsory to enroll to vote, but if I recall correctly, the fine for not doing so is surprisingly small.
Why JW’s don’t vote - I’m not well versed in how they think, but it’s got something to do with the bible saying not to put your confidence in man, or something.
I have nothing of value to add. I just wanted to say that at first glance I though the title of the thread was “Compulsory vomiting in Australia and Belgium”.