This week, the Telegraph has published an article debating the merits of compulsory voting. Partly inspired by the approaching first anniversary of the launch of the Campaign for Compulsory Voting, the Telegraph’s research shows that “at least half of UK adults support compulsory voting a range of public votes and elections”.
The argument is that in the face of an ever-decreasing rate of turnout at general elections – in 2024 the turnout rate was the second lowest on record at 59.5% – fining those who don’t participate is a neat solution to a complex problem.
However, before frogmarching British citizens to the ballot box, should we not be asking the more prescient question of why people are disengaged in the first place?
Low voter turnout isn’t the fault of British citizens. It’s the end result of insisting on using a voting system which isn’t responsive, representative, or often worth engaging with from the voter’s perspective.
The real issue: a system that doesn’t work for us
We know that Westminster’s voting system leaves millions of us left out of the decision-making process because our votes don’t count. If you live in one of the few remaining safe seats, the result of whatever election is being held is usually a foregone conclusion. If it’s a marginal seat, then we are forced to vote tactically rather than with our hearts in order ‘to keep the other guys out’.
In the 2024 election, we found that 57.8% of all votes cast did not have any impact on the political make-up of parliament.
If voters feel like their vote doesn’t make any difference, then not taking time out of their busy lives to engage could sadly be seen as a rational response. It doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care; they’re just being pragmatic.
Compulsory voting would be treating a symptom and not a cause of this disengagement. It would force people to participate in a system that many feel they are shut out of anyway. Rather than shifting the blame on to the public for not voting, politicians need to look at whether those votes actually matter.
A deeper solution to a serious problem
Instead of compelling us to participate in an election, politicians should focus on earning our participation.
The Telegraph article frequently references compulsory voting in Australia. What they don’t mention is that neither the Australian Senate nor House of Representatives uses First Past the Post. The Senate uses the proportional Single Transferable Vote and the House of Representatives the Alternative Vote.
With a proportional system, the vast majority of voters would have an impact on the make-up of parliament. As a result, we could have a Parliament better representing the diversity of British political opinion.
Research has shown that in countries using more proportional voting systems there is higher turnout as, amongst other reasons, voters feel their vote actually carries weight.
If you want Brits to turn up to the ballot box, they need a reason to believe their voice matters.
The risk of getting compulsory voting wrong (and right)
If compulsory voting is introduced in the UK without any major reforms, there would be a high risk of voters resenting being forced to participate in a system that doesn’t reflect what they think. Given that trust in politics is already at a record low, why push that any further?
In Australia, the government has a deal with voters – voting is compulsory, but the government goes out of its way to make it easy to vote and for every vote to have an impact.
Australian voters can go to early voting centres before polling day; cast postal votes; mobile polling stations go to care homes and remote areas; blind people can vote by phone; and voters can go to any polling station in their state or to interstate voting centres if they are out of their home state. If they are abroad, they can vote by post or at Australian embassies in person.
These are all interesting ideas without compulsory voting, but to bring in compulsory voting without them would disproportionately penalise those already under pressure. For our frontline workers – carers, emergency service workers, military personnel, doctors and nurses – shift patterns already create challenges in voting with our limited polling hours.
Focusing on fixing things, not forcing them
Rather than blaming people for not voting, politicians need to give them something worth voting in. This is possible through seriously looking at reforms to our democratic system, including a change to the voting system.
Compulsory voting may be a quick fix to boost turnout, but it doesn’t get to the heart of the issue and create meaningful participation in our elections; it just forces it.
For a stronger democracy, we must fix the system; the participation will follow.
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