Australia has a system of compulsory voting that causes a great deal of concern and confusion, with people often pressured into voting for people they don’t want to vote for. Let’s break that down and address a few of the myths.
What exactly is compulsory?
The Electoral Act is quite specific about what a voter must do to comply with our system of compulsory voting.
If you are an eligible voter (over 18, citizen, not otherwise disqualified), you must:
- Be registered on the electoral roll
- Attend a polling booth (or have a postal vote sent to you)
- Have your name marked off and take a ballot paper
- Retire to a booth to mark the ballot paper in private
- Fold the ballot paper so that your vote cannot be seen
- Put it in the ballot box.
You are not required to actually vote for any candidate on the ballot paper. It is compulsory to enrol to vote, it is compulsory to attend a polling booth, it is compulsory to take a ballot paper – and it is compulsory that your vote is secret, which means it is not possible to enforce people putting anything on their ballot paper.
What happens if I don’t vote?
If you don’t show up to vote, you will be sent a notice. If you have a valid reason for not voting – like you had a car accident or your mum was taken to hospital – then you just tell them the reason and that’s it. If you don’t have a good reason, you’ll be sent a fine. The fine for not voting in a federal election is $20.
What can I do if I don’t want to vote?
That depends on your reason for not wanting to vote.
If there is a safety concern or health issue that may make it difficult for you to vote, the best way to manage it is to become a postal voter. That way you don’t need to go to the polling booth, and you have a bit more time to get your ballot in.
If you don’t want to vote because you don’t like any of the candidates, just leave the ballot paper blank.
If you don’t want to vote because you couldn’t be bothered, the AEC will not have any sympathy for you. It is easier to just show up, leave your ballot paper blank and enjoy a democracy sausage on your way out. Or, you can chose to pay the $20 fine.
If you have a family member who has dementia or other issue and does not have the mental capacity to vote, you can fill in a form to have them removed from the roll (you’ll need to get supporting statements from a doctor). Being unable to see, sign your name, or other disability/accessibility issues however are not a reason not to vote, and the AEC does quite a bit of work to accommodate people.
If you are not in the country, there are ways you can vote, and the AEC does quite a bit of work to support the diaspora. But, not being in the country is a valid reason for not voting.
Talk to the AEC to find the best solution for your situation.
Myth: all modern democracies have compulsory voting
Definitely not. Despite the historic widespread support of compulsory voting in Australia, the vast majority of the democratic nations of the world frown upon it.
Globally, forcing someone to vote is generally considered a violation of civic rights. Compulsory voting is very rare, with only around 20 countries in the world with compulsory voting systems, and only half of those enforce it as Australia does – the others are mostly in South America. Australia is the only OECD country that has enforced compulsory voting.
Australia introduced compulsory enrolment in 1912, and made voting compulsory in 1924 to increase voter turnout and reduce party campaign expenditure. To this day, the most consistent reason given to keep compulsory voting is that helps keeps the cost of campaigns down for political parties. There are many other pros and cons given – and a bit of rewriting history to make it solely about turnout – but if you read the debate of the period the leading reason is it being too expensive for the parties to campaign to ‘get out the vote’.
In 1996 and 2004 there was consideration given to abandoning compulsory voting, but it didn’t get passed by the parliament.
As an aside, this is not the only aspect of our electoral system that is the way it is because the major parties want an easier time in campaigning. Pre-poll voting was shortened from three weeks to two at the last election, primarily because the major parties argued it was hard to staff pre-poll booths for three weeks, and the recently passed funding caps also heavily favours the major parties.
Myth: it’s against the law to deliberately vote informal or leave the ballot blank
It is an internationally protected right to not vote for any particular candidate by leaving the ballot paper blank. It is absolutely not against the law. Leaving a ballot paper blank, or what we more commonly call an ‘informal vote’ is specifically provided for in section 268 of the Electoral Act.
Australia has had to face an international court to defend our system of compulsory voting in the past. One case involved an individual named Christopher Alger who decided not to vote in 2010 because the previous Prime Minister John Howard had deceived the electorate with ‘non-core promises’, and as he couldn’t tell the difference between core and non-core votes, he couldn’t make an informed decision. The Australian Electoral Commission said that wasn’t a good reason not to vote, fined him, and Mr Alger took it to court, arguing that the requirements were a violation of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that protect freedom of thought and beliefs.
Long story short, the Australian Government argued that leaving the ballot paper blank was enough to fulfil the requirements of casting a vote, and the ICCPR found that the current system of compulsory voting in Australia is ok and not a violation of internationally protect rights, so long as voters are free to leave the ballot paper blank and are not forced or intimidated to vote for any particular candidate.
Plus, as noted above, by law your vote must be secret, which means no one can know who left the ballot paper blank.
Myth: if I don’t put anything on my ballot paper, it will count as a vote for the major parties
Not at all. As discussed in our previous explainer on preferences, only you decide where your vote goes. If you leave your ballot paper blank, it counts for no one.
Myth: you can cross out the candidates and write that you have no confidence in any of them (or VONC), and if enough people do that the election will be cancelled.
This myth has been around for a few elections now (why it persists is a bit mind boggling), and is on the AEC disinformation register. A vote like this will simply be informal and not included in the count. Whatever you write or draw on the ballot paper, other than numbering the boxes, will be ignored – you’re just making the task harder for election staff. The only marks other than numbers that vote counters have to look at is anything that identifies who the voter is, because if you can figure out who did the vote then it’s not secret, and will not be counted.
Myth: not voting is a ‘wasted vote’
Many campaigners will urge you not to ‘waste’ your vote by voting for their opposition, or an independent, or leaving the ballot paper blank.
The AEC themselves push this ‘don’t waste your vote’ line. It’s even in their education videos.
The fact is, it’s your vote. What you do with it is up to you, and if you chose not to vote for any of the candidates by leaving the ballot paper blank, that’s your choice.
If someone is judging you or telling you that you are doing something wrong by not voting, or that you are wasting your vote, they are usually trying to manipulate you to vote a particular way, and you can usually ignore that as pretty base campaign tactics.
Your vote is secret, and your vote is your choice. Even if that vote is for no one. Right AEC?
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