642
submitted 7 months ago by 3volver@lemmy.world to c/general@lemmy.world
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Uranium_Green@sh.itjust.works 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I believe Australia has mandatory voting and achieves a ~95% participation of registered voters basically every election, though they do enforce it with either a day in court or a fine.

I do wonder if you fined people, or wasted a day of theirs with court, whether it would have an impact in Greece after a couple of elections?

[-] Event_Horizon@lemmy.world 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

We swing between 93-95% participation

We alao make voting as easy as possible with voting opening 2-4 weeks in advance of election day, election day is always a weekend and as long as you vote before or on election day it's counted.

Also democracy sausages

I think such a high turn out makes our politicians a bit more honest with less empty promises since they can't dissuade anyone from voting.

[-] blind3rdeye@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago

Right. And for people who try to argue that they shouldn't be forced to choose between people they like like, or whatever, it's important to understand that it is only mandatory to get your name ticked off the list. You don't actually have to submit a valid vote. You can choose to just turn in a blank ballot paper, or write "fuck you" or whatever you like. There are no laws against that.

So the 'mandatory voting' just makes it mandatory to put in the small amount of effort required to show up; but doesn't force you to express an opinion. (Of course, I'd say that you should submit a valid vote. But you don't have to.)

[-] NIB@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

You can not enforce new social norms like that. People, including voting ones, will revolt. They will call it undemocratic and a cash grab. You are just asking for trouble.

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
642 points (89.4% liked)

General Discussion

11946 readers
1 users here now

Welcome to Lemmy.World General!

This is a community for general discussion where you can get your bearings in the fediverse. Discuss topics & ask questions that don't seem to fit in any other community, or don't have an active community yet.


🪆 About Lemmy World


🧭 Finding CommunitiesFeel free to ask here or over in: !lemmy411@lemmy.ca!

Also keep an eye on:

For more involved tools to find communities to join: check out Lemmyverse!


💬 Additional Discussion Focused Communities:


Rules

Remember, Lemmy World rules also apply here.0. See: Rules for Users.

  1. No bigotry: including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.
  2. Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
  3. Be thoughtful and helpful: even with ‘silly’ questions. The world won’t be made better by dismissive comments to others on Lemmy.
  4. Link posts should include some context/opinion in the body text when the title is unaltered, or be titled to encourage discussion.
  5. Posts concerning other instances' activity/decisions are better suited to !fediverse@lemmy.world or !lemmydrama@lemmy.world communities.
  6. No Ads/Spamming.
  7. No NSFW content.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS