Australia up next: Federal election tomorrow

[SanAndreasX]

EricHiggin said:

SvennoJ said:

I guess not, or it wouldn't have been for this stunt.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110218052948/http://noneoftheabove.com.au/about.htm

I changed my name from Geoff Richardson to Of The Above None on March 16, 2007. I did so because I wanted to emphasise at this election the fact that the two party system does not provide for the plurality of views which represents the Australian community.

I believe that a Parliament which contains its fair share of committed Independents can more adequately canvas all the issues from a non ideology-based perspective.

I have strong views on a wide range of issues but if elected I am committed to engaging with the electorate on all matters before casting my vote in Parliament.

Leaving the ballot blanc would work, voting is still anonymous in Australia I assume. So it would be added to the 'spoiled' votes pile.

Anyway there are other reasons against compulsory voting

https://irpp.org/research-studies/policy-matters-vol8-no3/

Our turnout was just over 65%, going back up thanks to Trump lol. If you want people to go out and want to vote, you have to engage with the public. Forcing people to make an unknowledgable / unwanted choice isn't making the results any more valid.

Anyway goodluck Australia, make the 'right' choice :)

As to "validity", I agree, but this then also opens the door to things like a minimum age change.

Who really believes an 18 year old is wise enough and well informed enough to vote? They aren't now, and we weren't back then either. "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote", only really makes sense if you're forced to fight. If you've chosen to fight, that's simply your choice. There was good reason why min voting ages were higher in the past, or not even based on age, and while people may argue that, today, we're more educated and have more info at our fingertips, that doesn't necessarily make you more intelligent overall or less prone to being fooled in a world of free, instant social media, where reasonable consequences for those trying to fool you don't really exist.

I'm not for being forced to vote either, but I don't necessarily see any of these rules as black and white, right or wrong. As long as the majority decides and agrees on them then that's acceptable since it would be their choice, assuming they're free to leave as well if they disagree.

In the United States, all 18-year-old males are required to register with the Selective Service. I had to register within 30 days of my 18th birthday. So even though the United States does not currently have an active draft, we are still nonetheless required to register. That, alone, mandates that 18-year-olds be allowed to vote on the people who can make the decisions to activate the draft that can send them into combat. And since the U.S. not only allows 18-year-olds to serve in the military, but the Armed Forces actively recruit in high schools, 18-year-olds should absolutely be given the right to vote, which was why the 26th Amendment was ratified.  Many countries in Europe still have compulsory military service as well. 

As far as being wise and well-informed, there are an awful lot of older people who are neither wise nor well-informed, and indeed act like wrinkled gray men- and women-children. Should they lose the right to vote based on some arbitrary standard? 

I'm personally not willing to allow some designated "wise men" decide my fate in what is supposed to be a democratic free society.