I thought we had compulsory voting

Australia was one of
the first nation states to give (white) women the vote (in 1902), nearly a decade
after New Zealand did so, in 18931, and we often pride ourselves on
it. We also pride ourselves on our compulsory voting, especially when we
compare it with the shambolic US system where, in the 2018 midterm election, 49.3%
voted, the highest turnout since 19142. There have been numerous calls
over the years for Australia’s compulsory voting to be scrapped. One was by former
Howard minister, Nick Minchin, who in an interview with the late great Mark
Colvin, claimed that as New Zealand had voluntary voting (with 80% turnout in
their 2005 election) we should too3. In New Zealand’s most recent general
election (2017), turnout was 79.8%4. Of course, Minchin uses the old
chestnut, stating that it is the democratic right of citizens “to choose not to
vote”3. Such calls almost invariable come from ultraconservative neoliberals.
The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) wants to have voluntary voting
considered, despite it having little support (27%) among the general populace5.
The fact that the IPA, a lobby group for big business who campaigned against
plain packaging for cigarettes, and now campaign against action on climate
change, want voluntary voting, is reason enough not to consider it.

Voting in Australia
was voluntary after federation in 1901, although after 1911, it was compulsory
to enrol to vote. Voter participation had been dropping steadily since
federation such that voter turnout dropped from 71% at the 1919 federal to less
than 60% at the 1922 election. Senator Herbert Payne was concerned about this trend
and introduced a private senator’s bill to make voting compulsory. The bill was
passed and voting became compulsory at the 1925 federal election. This
immediately increased the turnout rate to 91%6. According to the
Parliamentary Education office turnout has never dropped below 90%6.
However, this was written well before the 2019 election, where, according to
the Australian Electoral Commission, voter turnout was 83%7. So,
what has happened to make it almost as low as New Zealand’s turnout, when their
voting is voluntary and ours is supposed to be compulsory?

Those who didn’t vote
in the 2019 federal election will receive a letter from the Australian
Electoral Commission asking why they did not vote. A valid and sufficient
reason needs to be provided or the non-voter will be fined $20. Reasons such as
“being ill, having to save a life, natural disasters or car crashes” are all
valid reasons for not voting. The person who decides if that excuse is valid is
each electorate’s Divisional Returning Officer8. It took my partner
and me about a half hour to walk down to the voting centre and back. If we
couldn’t be bothered spending that half hour, it would cost me $20 which is
less than I was paid for a half hour of my job. Fining people as little as $20
is not a serious attempt to enforce compulsory voting. That is probably
something the coalition parties are quite happy about, after all, they do not
want people to vote. It just goes to show you there are ways to getwhat you want, other
than by legislating.

Sources

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I thought we had compulsory voting