Does Compulsion Curtail Freedom?

I have long held a view that legislation for political purposes will eventually come back to bite you in the bum. More on that in a moment.

In a piece posted at Menzies House, Socialist bias in every Australian election Jason Kent argues that compulsory voting benefits the left and also makes Australia less free.
Kent in his opening paragraph writes:

Compulsory Voting means that freedom in Australia is mandatory. It’s not true, but the fact that Compulsory Voting says it’s true, makes it so. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that means Australia is, and continues to become, less free than it might have been otherwise.

Hmm, interesting, 'it's not true but I am going to attempt to prove to you that it is'.  Compulsory voting takes away our freedom not to vote and, it seems, leads us down the slippery slope to socialism. Kent argues that those 'who favour greater government regulation & control (socialists) are more likely to comply with compulsory voting' therefore those with socialist leanings are more likely to vote than those freedom loving conservatives who, because they believe in the freedom 'not to vote', don't vote. Apparently there a lot of people who dislike compulsion so much they don't even register to vote and these people appear more likely to be freedom loving conservatives.
So we as a country are under the thumb of those damned socialists and closet communists as a result of compulsory voting. He ties his argument into contemporary politics with this:

Today we find ourselves so far to the ‘left’ that we’re set for the world’s biggest carbon tax, we have a climate change authority & several other climate change bureaucracies, a government owned and controlled national internet provider, and there’s even talk of an internet filter and media censorship; not to mention the government’s flagrant abuse of power with its constant lies, duplicity, and growing disregard for public opinion. We shouldn’t be anywhere near this point.
Compulsory Voting is the type of insidious socialist deception that the ALP and the Greens thrive on: a biased electoral system disguised as being more democratic than democracy. It’s the perfect socialist tool. That’s why Julia Gillard informed a group of Americans recently that Compulsory Voting was her favorite aspect of the Australian electoral system.

Well I'll be buggered. Why didn't I see that? Our Prime Minister (a devout socialist) favours compulsory voting and that proves beyond doubt it is all a socialist plot. I will come back to this a bit later.
I don't know of any convincing evidence that compulsory voting favours one side or the other and if we take US or UK experience into account voluntary voting hasn't prevented the election of conservative governments. Nor has compulsory voting prevented the election of conservative governments in Australia.
There is a Parliamentary Library Research Brief (October 2005, revised March 2008) that discusses the subject at length and it has this to say about compulsory voting favouring one side or another:

For the political parties, the most important question associated with the retention/abolition of compulsory voting is personal: does compulsory voting help or hurt our cause? Over the years, many observers have claimed certainty on this question, but the evidence remains inconclusive, making any estimate very difficult. As the earlier Parliamentary Library paper on compulsory voting put it, ‘no group or party can be sure of how it would be affected by the abolition of compulsory voting.’

The paper goes on to quote many conservatives who in fact think that the abolition of compulsory voting may in in fact damage the conservaties more than those damned socialists. But what about the 'great unwashed'? we the voting public? What do we think? Well as you would expect the brief delves into that and says:

Although some Australians no doubt resent having to attend a polling place, opinion polls have long shown that there is a solid amount of community support for compulsory voting:
The majority of Australians endorse compulsory voting and could be said to consent to the obligation to vote, not merely because they feel bound to obey the laws of a relatively just society, but because they apparently regard this particular law and its entailed obligations as a reasonable imposition on personal autonomy.

and then goes on to cite research and opinion polling that show support for compulsory voting ranging from 60% in 1943 to 74% in 2005. There is no meaningful difference in support between major-party voters.

Is compulsory voting really compulsory?
There is of course a field of thought that says we don't actually have compulsory voting what we actually have is 'Compulsory Attendence at a Polling Place' (for those that are registered to vote). It is a myth that I have also put. A quick visit to the AEC website and you will find this:

It is not the case, as some people have claimed, that it is only compulsory to attend the polling place and have your name marked off, and this has been upheld by a number of legal decisions:

• High Court 1926 – Judd v McKeon (1926) 38 CLR 380
• Supreme Court of Victoria 1970 – Lubcke v Little [1970] VR 807
• High Court 1971 – Faderson v Bridger (1971) 126 CLR 271
• Supreme Court of Queensland 1974 – Krosch v Springbell; ex parte
• Krosch [1974] QdR 107
• ACT Supreme Court 1981 – O'Brien v Warden (1981) 37 ACTR 13

Hmm, even I can learn something. Still as we have a secret ballot, those who don't mark the ballot paper will never be found out so, in effect they have only 'attended a polling place and had their name marked off'.


After a bit of further thought and reading on the topic the conservative part of me (that part that favours the staus quo and doesn't like change just for the sake of change) comes down on the side of let's just keep it as it is it doesn't really have much effect one way or the other. The part of me that says 'fixing' things for political reasons ain't the way to go is supported by this from the AEC website:

... in 1915, compulsory voting was introduced in Queensland by the Liberal Government of Digby Denham, apparently concerned that ALP shop stewards were more effective in "getting out the vote", and that compulsory voting would restore a level playing ground (ironically, Denham went on to loose the 1915 election).

 So Mr Kent you have based your arguments on 'nitwit' thinking. It ain't all a socialist plot. It was the conservatives what done it and, although you can't prove it, it seems it is coming back to bite the conservatives in the bum. Go away and do some thinking about and come back with some arguments to abolish compulsory voting that aren't based on a political fix.


So there you have it folks this political tragic has spent much time picking on nitwit thinking and saying nothing interesting when he could have been off smelling the roses and maybe involving himself in a 'real life'. It's been fun tho'