Could Mandatory Voting bring us out of the Economic Crisis?
By Christopher Larkin
It’s not something that’s discussed too much in mainstream American discourse. Whenever I‟ve broached the topic of mandatory voting, I’ve most usually heard the response, “but that’s undemocratic.”
Is it though?
In ancient Athens, the birthplace of modern democracy, it was seen as the duty of each citizen to vote, and fines were charged for abstention. This may seem like an antiquated custom of a long gone city, but in fact there are many countries today that employ different measures of mandatory voting. In total there are 32 countries that enforce it worldwide, with as diverse range from Argentina, to Australia, to Mexico and France. While the systems differ from country to country, there is still an aspect of legal enforcement in each; Australia, for example, imposes a penalty of anywhere from $20 – $70 for abstention; whereas in France, it is only compulsory for Senate elections.
It seems that it is purely popular sentiment that feels an aversion to it here in America. William Galston, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institute, believes that it is a necessary provision in order to recover the recession and induce economic growth.
Not seeing the connection? Read on.
Galston recently collaborated in writing a report on how to implement structural reform in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. He highlighted the three key features of the recession as being: “the fiscal deficit, the savings deficit and the investment deficit.”
In order to tackle these problems, profound institutional reform is required. However, this is a next to impossible task in such a polarized polity as we have. At the moment, elections are dominated by the extremes from both sides of the spectrum, and it is the moderate American vote which is falling behind. As a result politicians are playing red-meat politics, catering only to their voter base, which leaves the average American unrepresented when it comes to policy direction.
If mandatory voting is introduced then it will encourage a more balanced and thoughtful politics. With this stability in the political sphere, the institutional reform that is required in order to combat the recession and prevent a repeat will be given.
The report suggested that it should be trial-run in a “few willing states.” California has long been a bulwark of progressive ideas, at pioneering innovative ideas to solve old problems. Will this be another case where California leads the way?
Christopher Larkin is a British-born, Aliso Viejo based, political analyst.
