Compulsory Voting Should Be Mandatory

1505 Words4 Pages

Compulsory Voting Should be Mandatory in Canada
Compulsory voting is the legal requirement of electors to vote in elections. This is also sometimes referred to as mandatory voting. This can be required based on electoral law or national constitution, and it may or may not be enforced. This paper will argue that compulsory voting should be part of the Elections Act and enforced in order to prevent low voter turnout and maintain the robust principles of liberal democratic institutions founded on representing the various views across this country.
One of the reasons why compulsory voting is that it is a means of addressing low voter turnout and compulsory voting should be mandated in light of recent and alarming statistics that have been released over the years on Canadian voter turnout. Canada has seen voter turnout drop over the last 30 years where it shifted from close to 75 percent to just under 60 percent in 2008 (Siaroff & Wesley, 2011). Provincially, the numbers are even worse with voter turnout dropping from 80 percent some thirty years ago to 40 percent in recent years (Siaroff & Wesley, 2011). In fact, in Alberta, the voter turnout was 40.6 percent in 2008, while Prince Edward Island had 84 percent and Saskatchewan managed 75 percent (Siaroff & Wesley, 2011). This is particularly concerning in Alberta when you compare it to some of the other provinces. In the municipal elections, the numbers are even shockingly lower. In Lethbridge the turnout is typically between 20-40 percent with recent by-elections only citing less than 15 percent, which is particularly concerning to democracy advocates (Siaroff & Wesley, 2011).
The reason for compulsory voting is legitimacy. For instance, is there a minimum turnout for a mandate to ...

... middle of paper ...

...is, A., Gratschew, M., Pammett, J., & Thiessen, E. (2009). Engaging the electorate: Initiatives to promote voter turnout from around the world including voter turnout data from national elections worldwide 1945–2006. International IDEA.
Kennedy, J. (2013). Abraham Lincoln: Lessons in Leadership. Sandhurst: Royal Military Academy.
Siaroff, A., & Wesley, J. (2011). Explaining Comparative Voter Turnout in the Canadian Provinces since 1965: The Importance of Context. In APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper.
Tawfik, A., Sciarini, P., & Horber, E. (2012). Putting voter turnout in a longitudinal and contextual perspective: An analysis of actual participation data. International Political Science Review, 33(3), 352-371.
Young, L., & Jansen, H. J. (Eds.). (2011). Money, Politics, and Democracy: Canada 's Party Finance Reforms. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

More about Compulsory Voting Should Be Mandatory

Open Document