Quote:
Originally Posted by Dottore
I've always found this feature of Australian politics interesting. You get fined if you don't vote, right?
How much is the fine?
So your voter turnout is much higher - but isn't the result a less informed vote? I mean, there must be a lot of people who have no idea who to vote for - but who just go and tick any box on the ballot just to avoid the fine.
So even though the vote is more broadly based - and therefore arguably more democratic - you have this completely random factor of votes cast just to avoid the fine.
What do you Aussies think about that?
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I think because we are a small population (we just cracked 21M) most people are fairly well informed of who does what etc. We, the majority of the population, are actually interested in what's going on. Because we have to vote it sort of forces you into a decision, so I as say most people take the time to get informed.