Compulsory Voting, Party Stability and Electoral Advantage in Australia

Abstract

Australia has the oldest and probably the most efficient system of compulsory voting among the established democracies. The main reason for its introduction in the 1920s was to increase turnout, a goal it has achieved without difficulty. Compulsory voting has also made a major contribution to the long-term stability of the party system. However, the compulsory voting system has had two disadvantages. As in other countries which have introduced compulsory voting, historically there has been a very high level of invalid votes, although the levels are now less than they were prior to 1984, as a result of various electoral reforms. Second, the system disadvantages rightwing parties and advantages leftwing and minor parties. Survey evidence from the 1996 federal election suggests compulsory voting reduced the Liberal-National coalition's first preference vote by some 5 per cent, compared to the coalition's expected vote under a voluntary system. If the system is ever removed, it is likely to be for this reason, rather than because of any difficulties in administering it, or because of any philosophical objection to compulsion among voters or politicians.