Should we be made to vote?

I am sorely tempted to vote green - their package of policies is the nearest to my views - on health and education. In some ways it might be seen as a "wasted vote" but there is no other party who comes close for me.

I take voting very seriously and am glad that here in Australia it is compulsory. We have just been handed down the harshest budget in our history targeting the poorest and single mothers by this far right government. People have been demonstrating against them and it will be easier to vote them out because every one has the responsibility to have their say.

If you do not want to vote for any of the main parties you could always vote Green. Even if the Greens do not get in you will have given the main parties a fright.
I have deliberately spoilt my vote before by writing "None of the above" across my paper. Spoilt votes are counted, so you have done the same as writing it in a box.

I agree with POGS. People should vote, and have no right to moan about who gets in if they don't do so, but no, nobody should be 'made' to vote. We should be free to choose to or not. Anyway, as others have said, if they had to vote they would vote for the weirdest party they could think of.The postal vote has been made a laughing stock, so much corruption going on there.

I always think it's a pity that people don't vote considering that total suffrage wasn't achieved until 1918. Also there are so many countries that have either fixed voting or no voting at all. So we should be grateful that we can chose who governs us. However, it is a democracy so if we don't vote that should be fine too.

No

There are too many people who would vote who were totally clueless of the politics of it all and would vote the way their parents or peers voted not because they knew what they were voting for it just would make their life easy. It's bad enough this happens in any case but on a mass scale it would make voting a total farce.

I don't like postal voting either, accept for the disabled who cannot attend a voting station. There is too much evidence of 'postal fraud' and there is a huge potential in some cultures for women to have to vote as told . Also anybody can fill in the form so how can you possibly know it was the true wish of the voter?

The same applies to the talk of. Computer voting,

I feel if I do not vote I do not have a right to moan about the politics in question be they local, national or european.

Yes , it may mean some will give thought

My thoughts too re the people who fought to give us the right to vote.

If people aren't happy with a government, it's worth at least trying to change things for the better so making people think more about how their country is run, because they will have to vote, may not be a bad thing.

Yes, I think we should have to. I took my son to vote for the first time a year ago and we were the only ones there!

In the UK, due to the first pas the post system- my vote always automatically went straight into the bin- which is not very motivating. If you live in an area which is not representative of your 'politics' your vote just does not count (:. It did for local elections though.

No fines for not voting in Switzerland... where did you get this info from?
But we do vote very regularly, at local, Cantonal (County) and national level- every few months. Last week end was about buying some new army planes (refused), peadophiles not being allowed to work with children after conviction (passed), extra funds to help encourage young doctors to set up in General Practice (passed) as we have a huge shortage getting worse- and locally about setting up 59 x 200m windturbines (passed, much to our chagrin).

Tragic that only 10% of under 30s vote- very worrying.

Yes. When I think of the battles and sacrifices throughout history for the right of first the working man, and them much later, women, to vote I think we are betraying our foremothers and forefathers if we don't.

Of course you can spoil your paper and waste your vote but after its all over someone will have been elected.

Mostly I end up voting for least of the evils but that's better than letting others decide.

I'm sure a lot would - but I think many more people would actually start to think about the choices they have, instead of saying 'Oh, I don't vote because it makes no difference/I don't understand politics/it's too cold to go out...

I feel that if it was compulsory to vote that papers would be spoiled deliberately.

Yes I think it should be compulsory to vote, but each ballot paper should have a "none of the above" box in the event people don't agree with any of the people standing.

I'd like to bet that turn out for the EU elections this week is much higher than usual.