To all my very dear American friends....

[Nigel Gordon]

With recent results in the US and the UK I am beginning to see a good argument for the Australian approach - make voting compulsory.

[Nick Deverill]

Compulsory voting and a "none of the above" on the ballot paper. If there is a majority for "none of the above", new elections with new candidates. Always seemed logical to me.

[Graeme]

Introducing compulsory voting the USA would probably require either changing the date of the election to a weekend, or passing legislation that requires employers to grant employees time off to vote. On the plus side, it would stop the gimmicks currently used to suppress certain demographics from voting since those efforts would be useless -- suppressing the vote would be meaningless. Hopefully, that will mean more polling stations and simpler rules.

Having said that, I can't see it happening. Voting laws in the USA are at the state level, so compulsory voting would have to be voted for in each of the 50 states, along with legislation to form the appropriate regulatory basis for fining people who failed to vote. Each state would also need to work out the details on how to ensure people enrolled to vote, too, since that would also become mandatory. As an aside, there are some exemptions to voting allowed here in Australia, including a religious exemption for certain sects.

It works in Australia because we have the national infrastructure in place to support compulsory voting. A patchwork of infrastructure in 50 states to do the same would be a potential nightmare.

[colinian]

Introducing compulsory voting the USA would probably require either changing the date of the election to a weekend, or passing legislation that requires employers to grant employees time off to vote. On the plus side, it would stop the gimmicks currently used to suppress certain demographics from voting since those efforts would be useless -- suppressing the vote would be meaningless. Hopefully, that will mean more polling stations and simpler rules.

Having said that, I can't see it happening. Voting laws in the USA are at the state level, so compulsory voting would have to be voted for in each of the 50 states, along with legislation to form the appropriate regulatory basis for fining people who failed to vote. Each state would also need to work out the details on how to ensure people enrolled to vote, too, since that would also become mandatory. As an aside, there are some exemptions to voting allowed here in Australia, including a religious exemption for certain sects.

It's even worse than you make it sound, Graeme. The voter registration database (at least in California) is originated at the county level, not the state level. The county registrars for the 58 counties in California with a total population of 39,144,818 (July 1, 2015 official U.S. Census.gov estimate) collect and maintain the voter database. It is transmitted to the California Secretary of State's office where the data is combined into a single voter registration list (a database) called Calvoter. The processes for handling this at the state level are complex, and includes:

Data Exchange Standards

Official Statewide Voter Registration List

Elections Management System Requirements

Deficient Registration Records

Confirmation of California Driver's License and State Identification Numbers for Affidavits of Registration Submitted Prior to January 1, 2006

Active Voter Files

Inactive Voter Files

Processing New Voter Registration Applications

Additional Processing for Voter Registration Applications Submitted by Mail for New Voters

Updating Calvoter with New Registration Records and Changes to Existing Registration Records

Changes in the Mapping of Precincts to Statewide Political Jurisdictions

National Change of Address Processing

Department of Motor Vehicles Change of Address Processing

State Death and Felony Status Records

Duplicate Registration Records

Verification of Driver's License Numbers, State Identification Numbers, and Social Security Numbers

Listed on Affidavits of Registration

No Driver's License Number, State Identification Number, or Social Security Number Listed on Affidavit of Registration

Replacement of Unique Identification Numbers

Voting History

I'm glad it isn't my job!

Colin

[Graeme]

Thanks, Colin! In Australia, the electoral rolls are maintained by one non-partisan organisation: the Australian Electoral Commission. They maintain electoral rolls for not only the federal elections, but also the state elections. The states can vary their rules for state elections if they wish, but there is one set of rules enforced by the AEC for all federal elections. Without something similar (which may require a constitutional amendment to create since it's taking power from the states), I just can't see nationwide compulsory voting taking place in the USA.

[Cole Parker]

We already have many laws in this country, as well as regulations, that we made for the common good, but nothing was put in place to enforce them. Mandatory voting sounds quite like those. Right now we usually get something like 60% of registered voters to actually come to the polls, much less in local elections. That means millions and millions of people do not vote. What is the punishment going to be? If it's a fine, how do they collect it? It certainly couldn't be imprisonment; we already have no room in our jails.

People already ignore laws that were passed with no teeth in them.

C

[colinian]

Jill Stein, the head of the U.S. Green Party, has sufficient funding to pay for recounts of voting in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Wisconsin is the first of the three states where a recount has been filed and accepted; it will be completed by December 13. The cost to Stein's campaign for the Wisconsin recount is about one million dollars. The Green Party's objective, Jill Stein has said, is: "We demand voting systems that are accurate, secure, and accountable to the people." The Clinton campaign has said it will participate in the recounts. Donald Trump said the recount is "a scam" and "ridiculous" and that "the election is over." Of course, Trump had said that if he didn't win the election he would demand a recount (not noting that his campaign would have to pay the cost in each state that did a recount). Bonnie Kristian wrote in The Week: "Were the recounts to flip all three states to Clinton — an unlikely prospect — she could unseat President-elect Donald Trump."

This political cartoon in the December 2, 2016 issue of The Week magazine shows the cartoonist's idea of a map of the U.S. states organized and sized based on the effect of U.S. presidential elections being based on population instead of the Electoral College. That would be just fine, IMO!

Colin

[Nigel Gordon]

Compulsory voting and a "none of the above" on the ballot paper. If there is a majority for "none of the above", new elections with new candidates. Always seemed logical to me.

If you have compulsory voting an abstain or none of the above option is necessary. Also the option of a write in candidate. There have been a couple of local elections here where the controlling party has kept out a very popular local politician just to put in place on if its yes men.

[Nigel Gordon]

What is the punishment going to be? If it's a fine, how do they collect it? It certainly couldn't be imprisonment; we already have no room in our jails.

People already ignore laws that were passed with no teeth in them.

C

If you have not carried out you democratic duty and voted you are not entitled to the benefits of a democratic system, such as tax exemptions or relief. So if you don't vote, pay more tax. You could also cancel privileges, like a persons driving licence.

[Merkin]

Although I subscribe to the belief that everyone who is qualified to vote should vote, I hesitate to support a system that would require voting in every election. Where I live I am beset by endless elections, for local, district, and state officials and of course elections for nation-wide offices. Although there is some movement toward consolidating these various contests into “same year, same day, same place” balloting, this effort is far from successful and often would not make sense, since many office-holding terms are not on a four-year or even a two-year cycle.

[Cole Parker]

If you have not carried out you democratic duty and voted you are not entitled to the benefits of a democratic system, such as tax exemptions or relief. So if you don't vote, pay more tax. You could also cancel privileges, like a persons driving licence.

Doesn't that sound a bit draconian for the 'crime'. There could be hundreds of legitimate reasons a person didn't vote. So, take away his license and ability to get to work or the doctor's office because of that? Charge him thousands of dollars?

If this were true, you'd then have massive complaints and each case would have to be adjudicated which would then become a huge industry involving lawyers, courts, time and money. I just don't see it.

C

[Graeme]

The fine for not voting in Australia without a valid excuse is $20. If you don't pay, it goes before a magistrate who can assign a larger penalty, if required.