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https://theconversation.com/compulsory-voting-in-australia-is-100-years-old-we-should-celebrate-how-special-it-makes-our-democracy-234801>
"For nearly 200 years, the notion of American political exceptionalism has had
currency in the United States: it is an idea rooted in the nation’s status as
the first modern republic. As we watch from afar, disturbed yet mesmerised by
the latest chapter of violent political division in America, the country seems
less a paragon than a symbol of democratic pathology.
America’s certainty in its political uniqueness is symptomatic of a brash
national chauvinism. By way of contrast, Australia is prone, if anything, to
undue bashfulness about its democratic credentials. How else can we explain
that this month marks the centenary of the most extraordinary feature of the
country’s democratic architecture, and yet the anniversary is slipping by with
neither comment nor reflection. I refer to compulsory voting, which was
legislated in the federal parliament in July 1924.
Compulsory voting is not unique to Australia. Calculating how many countries
abide by the practice is notoriously difficult, since in around half the
nations where compulsory voting exists in name it is not enforced. Most
estimates, however, put the figure in the vicinity of 20 to 30.
If not unique, Australia’s experience of compulsory voting is highly
distinctive for a number of reasons."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
