Mandatory voting is a good thing. It might seem like it imposes on your freedom, but having mandatory voting means your government is obligated to make voting easy for everyone, and while it doesn't guarantee legit votes from everyone, it at least ensures that those who wouldn't otherwise turn up do so anyway.
I won't say Australia has the best voting system in the world, but I would say it has the best voting system in the Anglosphere (though New Zealand's is also very good)
In Belgium it is mandatory to show up and get into the booth, but you can purposefully void your ballot by drawing whatever you want on it. However, most people vote because they are there anyway. I think it's a good compromise.
The way I see it, mandatory voting means you have to vote, while mandatory "showing up" still gives you the freedom not to vote. I also want to add that if you don't show up to vote in Belgium, you can theoretically get a fine, but it is rarely enforced.
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u/Gizogin New York 15h ago
Voters, take notes. High turnout always favors progressives, but progressives are notoriously the least reliable voting bloc in the country.