I realize this isn't even remotely an issue in many places, but it's an interesting subject to discuss anyway.

There are of course quite a few countries, my own included, where it is the case that voting is compulsory (usually the penalty for not voting is a fine).

I'm interested in peoples opinions on the matter
- is voting a right or a duty?
- does compulsory voting infringe individual rights substantively? or is it arguably a necessary evil (like say... taxes).

The reason I bring this up is that one major effect that is has is that campaigns focus on 'swinging voters' - since everyone votes, motivating a party's base to "get out and vote" is never going to be enough to win.
It has been argued that this situation tends to result in more moderate and/or representative governments, as major parties must vie for the 'swinging' voters who don't hold strongly partisan views in order to win.
Of course, it also results in pandering to the median voter.

What do people think?
Would it be a good idea, hypothetically, to introduce compulsory voting to say, the UK or US?

This is a terrible idea. Why would we want people who don't give a shit about politics to be voting? We already have too many of those.

Its compulsory to vote in australia. My mom who doesnt know shit about whats going on just numbers 1,2,3,4... in the boxes.

so, i would be against the compulsory vote.

It defeats the supposed inherent legitimacy of democratic government. The election of representatives is supposed to be a voluntary concession, not a forced institution. They're not the ruling class, they're the public servants. Compulsory voting would defeat that (not that power isn't already comically abused).

it's not enough to get idiots off their ass to go vote. they also have to become informed voters, otherwise they're doing more harm than good. australia is retarded for having such a law in place. voting should obviously be voluntary and informed voting should be encouraged over the current "omg ya lets get 20 million teens registered 2 vote!111" MTV bullshit they've got going these days.

I'd say compulsory voting is a pretty bad idea for the reasons already stated. It introduces people who don't give a shit or aren't informed, and it makes it more likely for abuse of power ("It's compulsory for you to vote - compulsory to vote for [x candidate/party]").

It also allows political leaders to claim a greater majority of support than they may actually have since people like Mantikore's mom simply check boxes randomly. This means policies that would otherwise not be supported have the illusion of being popular decisions. How is that true representation?

If you don't care about the politics or are an informed voter unhappy with the choices that season, you can always not vote if voting is a right and not a civic duty. Otherwise you'd be forced to cast a vote contrary to whatever convictions you might hold - political or otherwise.

Interesting. Some would argue that voting being compulsory results in people being more engaged in politics, but how true that is is anyones guess.

The mention of "get out the vote" drives is interesting of course - since in a compulsory system candidates actually have to spend 100% of their time convincing non-partisan voters why they are the better pick - energizing ones base being more or less pointless.

Part of the worry with non-compulsory voting that I've heard is that some demographics end up over-represented (classic joking example - elderly gun nuts) by their propensity to vote en-mass, while other demographics which tend to vote less are ignored by governments.

I don't have a strong opinion either way TBH (pros and cons), but it's nice to hear what others think.

I can't speak for other countries, but Australia had optional preferential voting, so there's a much greater range of parties, and you don't have to tactically vote. (for example, if I want to vote green, but hate the liberals, I can vote 1 Green, 2 Labor). This of course means there's a wider variety of parties then in first past the post systems.
It's always possible to lodge a blank ballot as well.

Voting should be completely voluntary. Why should those who have little interest in politics be forced into voting for somebody they most likely do not understand?

I hate voting but if I don't do it here I have to buy one less bottle of Jägermeister, gotta love the freedoms we enjoy here in Australia. Not like it matters, you just go in and sign your name then leave, black ballots ftw.

That makes more sense. I wasn't sure how Australia's system worked.