Essay On Compulsory Voting

Countries that have compulsory voting have on average 18% more voters than Canada. Compulsory voting is a system in which the government is responsible for getting people out to vote. Canada needs compulsory voting, the reasons being, it has been a trusted system that has worked for decades in other countries. People would be more interested in politics if they’re more talked about. Compulsory voting does not mean that you have to vote, it just means that you must at least show up at the polling station and sign in. How often do you have meaningful conversations with your family and friends about voting?

People would be substantially more interested in politics if they were a common topic that was brought up in conversations. As it is no one really talks about politics until a couple months before the vote, even then a lot of important info about the parties aren’t usually discussed. It makes it really hard for the average person to understand what’s going on. Unless you research on your own time you won’t know what the partys’ platforms are or what their vision is for changing Canada. If you talk to a random person on the street it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to tell you what the various partys’ platforms are. Having meaningful, fun conversations about …show more content…
Belgium was the first country to have compulsory voting they first instituted the law back in 1892, over a hundred years ago. Belgium's voter turnout was 89% in 2014, 21% more than Canada’s in the last vote. Australia had around 47% voter turnout before they instated compulsory voting (They instated it in 1911), in 2013 their voter turnout was 93%. Argentina has had compulsory voting since 1914, their voter turnout was 77% in 2013. If canada could commit to compulsory voting it would increase the voter turnout and would be a system to rely on for years to