Most democratic governments consider participating in national elections a right of citizenship. Some consider that participation at elections is also a citizen's civic responsibility. In some countries, where voting is considered a duty, voting at elections has been made compulsory and has been regulated in the national constitutions and electoral laws. Some countries go as far as to impose sanctions on non-voters.
Compulsory voting is not a new concept. Some of the first countries that introduced mandatory voting laws were Belgium in 1892, Argentina in 1914 and Australia in 1924.
Advocates of compulsory voting argue that decisions made by democratically elected governments are more legitimate when higher proportions of the population participate.
The leading argument against compulsory voting is that it is not consistent with the freedom associated with democracy. Voting is not an intrinsic obligation and the enforcement of the law would be an infringement of the citizens' freedom associated with democratic elections.
Now that the Andalusian regional election is on its way, do you think making voting compulsory would be beneficial? Do you think compulsory voting would work in Spain? How do you think citizens should be approached in order to make them understand the importance of voting? Write 200-220 words.
Primarily, forcing citizens to vote by a compulsory voting is an attack to our human rights, specifically our freedom to participate in voting or not.
ResponderEliminarFirst of all, I dont think making a compulsory voting here in Andalusia, would be beneficial for our government neither for ourselves due to the fact that we would only care about voting and not the fact of which political party we want to vote, as we wouldnt want to be sanctioned for non-voting.
Similarly would happen in Spain if it became mandatory. My opinion is that it wouldnt work either for the same reason and clearly it would lead to a rebellion for our freedom instead of achieving our duty of voting.
In other words, we, citizens should be approached with words of encouragement. We have the right to vote, but we should never be forced to do that. In fact, I believe we should all have in our minds that our vote counts, every vote does and we ought to participate at the voting elections freely because at the end, it will end up affecting us sooner or later when a certain political party is chosen for the government of the country.
In summary, we shouldnt take for granted our freedom to vote and we ought to be wise with which political party we choose.
Araceli Muñoz Castillo.
In my reckoning, making voting compulsory would not be beneficial for Spanish citizens in general but it would be particularly unwanted Andalusian’ citizens.
ResponderEliminarI totally agree that the current electoral law is not the best way to choose democratically the representatives citizenship members of the government but from my point of view, making voting compulsory would be like a “ coup d’etat” to our Constitutions.
In a free expression and democratic country like Spain, obviously that this type of law wouldn’t work.
Well, if you ask me how citizens should be approached in order to make them understand the importance of voting, I have to tell you that could be a refreshing idea making relevant information crackdown about the benefits and advantages to voting and how it could change our society.
I strongly believe that should have an important change of politicians profile because nowadays there are a high level to corrupt of them and it is a really bag Democracy concept.
To be honest, Andalusia’ citizens, especially people who live in gentrified areas will not accept compulsory voting because they will considerate it as an attack to Spanish Constitutions.
To sum up, I might add that a right chance of the election laws would be beneficial for Spanish citizens in general.
Eva Almiron
In my opinion, it should not be compulsory to compel people to vote because, as the article says, it would go against the freedom that it is associated with democracy. In this way, I understand that those who decide not to vote choose this option because they are not interested in politics and it could mean that the result of the election would be less valid than if those people voted because of their lack of interest and comprehension of what democracy really means.
ResponderEliminarOn the other hand, if we were to apply the compulsory vote in Spain, this regulation would go against the country's own democratic tradition and the final results would be reflected in the ballot boxes as many people would only vote because they have to obey the law and not because they are identified with an ideology or political program.
Taking into account what I said before, if the government wants to change this voting process it might be a good idea to make children aware of the importance of voting for the future of the country in which they will live. Thus, the introduction of a subject in the school curriculum would be beneficial so children are aware of the importance of voting in elections and as a domino effect would possibly change the citizens perspective on such an important element of the democracy.
Jorge Carnerero Alguacil
Never have I seen such a situation in Andalusian regional election. It all happened about a week ago when, as all Andalusian citizens could appreciate, some of the lower voting levels in recent years were recorded. If you ask me about my personal view regarding voting procedures in elections, I may answer that it should be completely compulsory as giving our opinion also requires making a decision in the ballot boxes.
ResponderEliminarRegarding what has just happened in Andalusia, I strongly believe that people are disillusioned so they try to punish political parties both ways either voting extreme parties or even rejecting the opportunity to attend the voting session. So, what can political parties do to change this? Firstly, they should fulfill what they actually promise not only at campaign levels but also once they achieve an important position in the government. In addition, they should also empathize with people suffering from issues such as the loss of employment, not having enough money to support the family or even not receiving enough help whenever they need, that is, in case of gender violence, famine or any other accommodation problem, for instance.
To sum up, political parties should start being in the citizens’ shoes with all possible pros and cons of living in a real world. From my point of view, it is time for political parties to change if they don’t want to miss the boat again. Don’t you think so?
Silvia Jiménez Molina
The decreasing voters’ turnout at elections is a really controversial issue nowadays. Recent researches claim that just the 58,65 % of people went to the polls in our last regional election and although it can be understood as a strong criticism against the government, not casting our votes is detrimental and harmful for democratic principles.
ResponderEliminarBased on that, compulsory voting would have some benefits such as to guarantee a high percentage of participators in each election. Besides, not only would the duty to vote raise the number of votes but also it would increase the political knowledge of residents since it is said that the great majority of people who do not vote are those with a lower educative level so, if they know they are forced to cast their vote, they will surely pay more attention to politics. In addition, I am inclined to believe that ministers might become more honest if they see a big citizen implication, or at least, they would take much more into account the preferences of the population.
However, it should not be forgotten that our constitution defends the freedom of expression so, compulsory voting might be seen as a kind of liberty deprivation. So, I’m not completely sure whether compulsory voting would be a successful approach in Spain but I strongly believe that there should be maybe a better educational system which could make people somehow understand the importance of casting a vote in order to have a qualitative democracy.
SARA LÓPEZ MONTES
Definitely not! Never have I heard such a wrong idea before. Forcing people puts them off and therefore it turns out to go to hell in a handcart. We’re so used to watching on our daily basis, aren’t we? I completely believe that, assuming people were forced to vote compulsorily, it’ll create divisions and led to increase tensions. And what about the results? Would they be fair?
ResponderEliminarI would rather think we should encourage people to vote than obligate them. It’s all about breaking the mould. Our democracy system is at stake, so we must act the sooner the better.
I speak my mind and, in order to hit the jackpot, I’ve just come up with possible solutions to persuade people to vote starting from two basic ideas:
* Education plays an important role here. I suggest that both parents and teachers should engage teenagers in order to be keen on politics. We must teach our future adults the importance of voting since it’s a right that our past relatives didn’t enjoy.
* As everyone knows, many people take for granted that the right to vote won’t disappear and together with the idea that we tend to appreciate the most those things we can’t get easily, we should make people understand that the days of the right to vote could be numbered. And by doing so, I dare to say that in 15 years time, with all odds, the countries won’t be dealing with low voter turnout.
It’s not easy but it’s worth a try. Remember that “nothing ventured, nothing gained”
Pilar Herrero
As a citizen I always complain about the same thing during election time: the low voting participation. If you aren’t coming to vote, which is a right and a duty as a citizen, you cannot complain about bad things. If you want to change something, a way of thinking or whatever you wish, you must start with participating in this important act of democracy.
ResponderEliminarYour vote could be considered for a while or just be an impulse, but regardless, if you are not voting on this day that means that democracy is failing, doesn’t work or isn’t worth it. It’s for that governments in several places in the world have created laws about the duty to vote in order to compel citizens to participate. This is called “compulsory voting”. But this step could be a double-edged sword.
If different governments choose to enforce compulsory voting as a law, they could be sure about what the people are thinking. But in democracy, everything that someone could do must be a step towards freedom: freedom of choice, freedom of action, freedom of thinking. Nothing must be imposed otherwise the word “democracy” wouldn’t make sense.
In my opinion, the best way to increase the number of voters in an election is to educate people in this matter: how the electoral system really works, the importance of the electoral turnout, how things could change with different results, etc. We are not only part of this system but it is we who truly make up the democracy.
Interesting issue. First of all, I disagree with a compulsory voting.
ResponderEliminarIt’s true that low turnout is a phenomenon that is causing some headaches internationally. The triumph of Trump, the plebiscite of Colombia, the brexit, the impossibility of forming a government in Spain... This has made me consider the possibility that a mandatory voting system would be good.
But thinking more slowly, I strongly believe that the good thing about a democratic system is the vote continues to be a citizen's right. If we turn it into something obligatory it would become a duty and it would cease to be a right. A duty imposed by the rulers. And in my humble opinion it goes against the democratic principle of popular sovereignty, where the citizen is the principal and the rulers are the representatives.
In Spain, if citizens had to go voting compulsorily, I´m afraid politicians would save their electoral programs to convince us and instead they would offer us: key rings, pens, T-shirts, etc. And the people who were forced to vote, would do it to the one that offers the most merchandising.
I consider that institutional campaigns should be carried out stating the importance of voting. Explaining that the decisions of politicians affect us all. And if you don’t like a situation, you have the power to change or improve it with your vote.
Jacinto Zurita.
Firstly, I have some lights reservations about making voting compulsory. On the one hand, it is really proved that people who don’t attend the poll stations are systematically, those who have the lowest educative levels as well as the most pitiful salaries. Recently, the experts in political issues argue that the leaders or the parties in power would probably act their functions with an extra of legitimacy provided the per cent of turnout was high sufficiently. On the other hand, there is no point to find yourself forced to vote in a country where the opinion freedom is completely the democracy stamp.
ResponderEliminarTherefore I am strongly convinced that making voting compulsory to promote unsatisfied citizens because of our outrageous political situation is absolutely an educational matter. Personally, from a moral stance it could be a good solution to tackle this problem with the novel democratic project called “Learning by doing”. Never had I heard about it. This method is focused on teaching people how become aware of the public issues and how to take more interest and seriousness in the popular vote. Not only is the main aim that citizens vote to express their political preferences voluntarily but it boost also what is at stake on every election. We must bear in mind that loads and loads of voters are not highly knowledgeable about candidates and their proposals. As the result, the electoral outcomes are not crystal clear. Regarding the latest Andalusian outcomes, honestly I think that every cloud has a silver lining.
To sum up, I pose this question: has our current political system got legitimacy with a great lacking of citizen participation?
Ana María Mesa.
Voter turnout is becoming increasingly low due to the people’s lack of interest in politics. This brings up to the question of whether mandatory voting would change this trend. It seems to me that education is a great deal more effective than a compulsory voting.
ResponderEliminarTo begin with, I remember my grandfather telling me how important is to cast your vote and keep a democratic country, since he had lived a civil war and a dictatorship. So, not only is voting a right, but also it is a privilege we should appreciate.
On the other hand, loads and loads of people are fed up with unfulfilled electoral promises and countless political scandals, such as corruption, hitting the headlines as well as compounding the existing social problems. But something has to be done because our silence makes us accomplices.
Finally, although our democracy still has to improve many aspects, your vote is really, really essential for its survival. I wish our politicians were honest and charismatic people concerned about a welfare state. Therefore, keep in mind that your ballot paper might decide who is likely to take office.
To sum up, I highly recommend going to the polls in the next election even if you do not feel represented by any political party, using a protest ballot, instead of not voting.
David Sánchez Portero
It´s paramount to understand that low voter turnout is the Spanish election’s elephant in the room. Spain, constituted in a social and democratic rule of law, has rights and legal obligations which let us as a society living with personal guarantees. For instance, in our Constitution it is said that Spanish people have the popular sovereignty and they have the right of participate in public issues through political representative.
ResponderEliminarRegarding if making voting compulsory would be beneficial to us, maybe it is barking up the wrong tree, at least this is the way I see it. We have to be reeducated and to lead young generations in order to be able to know our rights, obligations, social necessities…On the contrary, all citizens do have the right to a vote, but we can’t talk about freedom if we start with an obligation, undoubtedly.
For what it’s worth, not for a moment do I reject my right to vote. Nevertheless, I have no doubt: the almost 42% of abstention in the Andalusian regional election was high due to the people’s dissatisfaction with their elected officials.
Despite the fact that all of us, as a society, have to wake up and smell the coffee if we want a realistic democratic rule of law, I wish we will get over this by the end of the century.
Almudena López Maillo
Voting is considered the culminating act for Citizens’ participation in a democratic society because it is, perhaps, the most direct way to take part in the governing of their country. In most of them, voting is a voluntary option but, in some other such as Belgium and Italy, people are bound by law to do that.
ResponderEliminarIn my opinion, making compulsory voting won’t be anyway beneficial for a self-considered democratic society. People can’t be oblige to do that because if they decide to stay at home, they have already chosen one of the different options they have. And that alternative is as valid as the others, showing a clear displeasure with all the different parties taking place in the election.
In addition, we live in Spain and we have Latin character. In that sense, I am convinced that compulsory voting wouldn’t work in this country because our bohemian sense of duty and that characteristic kind of indiscipline that we often show against rules.
Finally, due to our quixotic vision of life, any effort to make us understand the importance of voting, would be futile. Unfortunately, only after have suffered the consequences of the rise of certain politic options, would we become aware of that fact… And the most clarifying example of that, occurred in Andalusia only a few days ago.
Jaime Cordón Moreno
Voting rights is one of the most important thing that citizens have,
ResponderEliminarbesides, our grandfathers were struggling for years to stablish a
system after which men and women can choose their representatives
politicians. Furthermore, there have been many efforts and social
transformations throughout history to get this really, really
essential right. For this reason, we had better vote every four year
and commit ourselves to the important process of our present and
future as a society. On the other hand, voting shouldn't be an
obligation or imposition, it should be simply citizens' right in the
whose world. In this contex I think making voting compulsory wouldn't
be beneficial for us, in fact the impositions shouldn't be tolerated.
Politicians have really really hard job, they should encourage people
to vote for them with campaigns, because they don't invite people to
understand the importance of voting. They only persuaded us to vote
them with false promises which they never satisfy. For instance, they
never put themselves in our shoes.-
To sum up: A politician has to be compelling and charismatic in order
to approach people, they had better come up with some new policy ideas
otherwise they are going to lose the election. For this reason, I
recommend that you vote, whenever you can because I hope this
political situation changes any time now. Never have I seen so
laborious circumstances like that we are living nowdays.
Fdº. Yayo Romero Molina.-
I’m completely opposed to it. As 21st century citizens, we should be free to exercise our right to vote. If we were forced to vote, we would break the main aim of the democracy which is the freedom to decide. In fact, establishing the compulsory vote wouldn’t guarantee a better democracy with loads and loads of forced people introducing their white ballots. Moreover, in the current social and political outlook, it would lead to higher tension in our society. For this reason, I would rather maintain as a personal decision to cast our vote or not.
ResponderEliminarNevertheless, needless to say, we have lived in a dictatorship for 40 years where any election was held and not until the overthrow of this regime did we get the right to vote. Therefore, we should appreciate our present system fostering the participation in the election among the citizens since that there’s a lot at stake.
In other words, the right to vote is said to be a responsibility among population, but how can we boost the voter turnout? Obviously, education is the solution. I suggest that we transmit our children and students, both in schools and home, the importance of going to the polls to decide the future of the country and express their opinion about politicians. Overall, nowadays, when new radical parties are emerging every day. Doing this, we will be on the right lines about the democracy.
Aurora Jiménez Barranco
Voting is one of the most important characteristics of democracy. In most countries it is voluntary. I think that should be voluntary too. Why? I do not believe that voting compulsorily will improve necessarily the quality of democracy. In some elections, a massive vote has been taken and, nevertheless, the election has been bad. Other times, fewer people voted and the election was more successful. What do I mean by this?
ResponderEliminarFirstly, voting is important in a democracy and is probably its most defining characteristic. However, there are other important features that are less visible. Without division of powers, without fundamental rights and duties, and especially without principle of legality, any political system collapses even if there are elections.
Secondly, voting is important but how you vote is important too. Voting is a basic right, but it is best exercised if citizens are well trained. Therefore, education is as important as voting. Consequently, each democratic country must ensure a serious and responsible educational system that values effort. If this does not happen, the quality of the vote is low and the result of the elections can be improved.
In conclusion, as a Spanish citizen I believe that the vote should not be mandatory. In addition, worrying about being informed, reflecting and providing a good education to children if we have them, should be a personal and moral obligation for a good citizen.
Pedro Fernández Fernández
Voting is one of the most important characteristics of democracy. In most countries it is voluntary. I think that should be voluntary too. Why? I do not believe that voting compulsorily will improve necessarily the quality of democracy. In some elections, a massive vote has been taken and, nevertheless, the election has been bad. Other times, fewer people voted and the election was more successful. What do I mean by this?
ResponderEliminarFirstly, voting is important in a democracy and is probably its most defining characteristic. However, there are other important features that are less visible. Without division of powers, without fundamental rights and duties, and especially without principle of legality, any political system collapses even if there are elections.
Secondly, voting is important but how you vote is important too. Voting is a basic right, but it is best exercised if citizens are well trained. Therefore, education is as important as voting. Consequently, each democratic country must ensure a serious and responsible educational system that values effort. If this does not happen, the quality of the vote is low and the result of the elections can be improved.
In conclusion, as a Spanish citizen I believe that the vote should not be mandatory. In addition, worrying about being informed, reflecting and providing a good education to children if we have them, should be a personal and moral obligation for a good citizen.
Pedro Fernández Fernández
After knowing how low the voter turnout in Andalusia has been, I would dare to say that the best option is not making voting compulsory, because if we make people obey to vote, the results in the ballot box would not reflect that citizens see eye to eye with an specify party, they would just reflect that it was an obligation.
ResponderEliminarThis situation in Andalusia makes me think what the real problem is. Most people would say that not only voting is a right but also a duty and citizens should appreciate it. However, I strongly believe most of people know that fact, but as anybody believes in any of the parties, they don’t see the point in voting. For this reason, I reckon this situation could be considered as a kind of strike against the political situation in Spain.
Parties have lost our respect and our faith. That’s why, the 2nd of December a lot of people decided to stay at home instead of voting the local election.
The question now is, how could we make people be aware of the importance of voting? To my mind, I think the solution starts in the parties. If all of them show that they are going to change the social and economic situation and stop corruption, people will look forward to voting again.
Esther Marín
After the results of the past Andalusian elections, this is an issue that have raised a lot of controversy and debate. Once analyzed citizens' participation, the figures show that only 59 out of 100 potential voters have exercised their right to cast their ballots.
ResponderEliminarWhether voting should be made compulsory or not has supporters and detractors. From my point of view, the low rate in participation is alarming but I do not consider that compelling people to vote is the solution. In fact, if voting became mandatory in Spain, the odds of citizens voting just because they are obliged to without reflecting upon the importance of their decisions would be pretty high. Furthermore, I consider that, it is precisely in the freedom of choosing, where the essence of democracy relies on.
Only after the government and the different political parties take awareness of the causes of this low voters turnout, will this problem reach a solution. This low participation seems to be due to two main causes. First and foremost, it is an appeal to a general discomfort among the population with our electoral system and political parties. Corruption among political parties, the unfulfillment of political pledges and the ambition and hypocrisy of many politicians are undermining people's trust in the democratic process of voting. Secondly, it shows a lack of civic responsibility of a part of the population.
Undoubtedly, efforts to solve these problems should be made. Politicians must work to recover citizens' confidence and educational campaigns should be carried out to make people become aware of the importance of voting as the only democratic means to express their opinion and change their reality, otherwise, others will decide for them.
Florentina Mañero Fernández
Andalusian election had been a turning point of the view of the Spaniards about politics. The low participation, only the 58,65% of the population of Andalusia, and the result, where extreme right, VOX, obtained 12 seats, has been a long discussed topic in social network. Lots of people where against this resolution so they tried to encourage the people who didn’t vote to vote because they said that we were going to have the situation that we had 40 years ago with Franco.
ResponderEliminarIn my modest opinion, compulsory voting can be a good idea because the result will be more similar with the thoughts of all citizens. However, people will try to not vote or do a blank vote. And also, democracy is supposed to exist to give citizens the opportunity to vote or no vote.
I think that nowadays there a lot of people who are tired of the political parties of today. So, I think that people will vote more if political parties do their function instead of steal money of the inhabitants because this situation cause rejected against the politic because there is nowadays the misconception that every political party steal money. This can be changed if political parties suffer a huge renovation.
Juan Jesús Lopera García.
I am one of those advocates of compulsory voting and I strongly think that Spain should make laws to impose sanctions on non-voters. Democracy means equality facing decisions and when choosing decisions, therefore, to participate in elections is a right and not a choice. Even in a class, students have to vote for their representative, be conscious of the election of someone who could be the leader of the class and their voice with teachers and board, why shouldn't we do the same with our country?
ResponderEliminarIn the same way, I understand that the general discontent with our politicians translates into an absolute disinterest in voting. But the complaints after the elections are continuous and people forget that if we do not express ourselves, changes won't take place and that “the usual ones” will still vote because they have their own interests.
Nowadays, we live in a society where democracy is distorted and has become a plutocracy (inadequate funding of campaigns and political parties) and a partitocracy (the parties influence with their interests in the elected representative), plus we live in a such a large ignorance of our politicians and a strong ignorance and demagoguery. Our grandparents and grandmothers fought hard to express their freedom and we owe it to them, to ourselves and our fellow citizens to express our voice and elect our representatives.
Lorena García Gómez
From my humble point of view, I would not force citizens to vote by dint of legal measures. When I come to think about it, something prompts me to consider that it would be far worse, assuming the governments are violating precisely the first axis of democracy: freedom.
ResponderEliminarProbably other methods would be highly effective to increase participation in elections, avoiding the fact of tapping into more forceful strategies. In this vein, we could opt for political education at schools, talks and forum-like debates in our surrounding neighbourhoods, mass media as a vehicle to raise awareness about the importance of everyone´s single participation in the political procedure to choose leaders and so on.
As for the citizenship´s reaction, I bet it would not be a positive one. According to the action-reaction behaviourist theories, the more you insist on something when trying to convince someone, the less desired response you may obtain. Not in vain, the current psychological trends about emotional intelligence pose that in order to achieve a suitable reaction in our daily relationship´s partners we need to count on agreed proposals, consensus techniques and a constant recurrence to be challenge of putting oneself in the other´s shoes.
In a nutshell, all form of compulsory duty should not be considered in any aspect of human concerns such as coming to terms with social and political musts.