Australia is one of the few countries in the world where voting is compulsory for all those who are eligible to. Like so many things in life, this sounds like a good idea at first, but soon turns out to be a very poor one, on both theoretical and practical grounds.
The practical grounds relate to the world that we live in. In an ideal world, all people would be politically aware and well informed, and would be in a position to vote wisely. In the world in which we live, many people haven't heard of more than about five politicians or two parties, and don't know what anyone, party or person, stands for. To force these people to vote is to turn an election, which decides how a city, state, region or country is run for the next three or four years, is to turn the fate of millions of people into a lottery. Anyone who can't be bothered voting doesn't really deserve a say anyway, and this sort of self-selection serves the purpose of allowing those don't know to stay out – which is what they should be doing. I don't want anyone to vote if that vote is likely to be based on specious or fatuous grounds. Forcing people to vote is an excellent way of getting people to vote for just that reason.
Also, if we lived in an ideal world, we wouldn't need elections, because someone with the best interests of the country at heart would turn it into a benevolent dictatorship, which would undoubtedly be the most efficient way of running things. Obviously though, just as many people don't know the first thing about politics, there is no such thing as a benevolent dictatorship – or not after the first three months, anyway. The ideal world often works poorly in practice.
The theoretical, as you might guess, is a lot more involved. If you want a one-sentence summary, it would be: Not everyone buys into the idea of a democracy, and you must not assume that everyone has the same ideas about government as you do. Any government means being governed by someone else even if you don't like it. For those those object to being ruled over – which is a small, but not insubstantial, minority – any vote at all is one last removal of their freedom, as it forces them to buy into a system of which they want no part.
I support the idea of a government, and one that is democratically elected, because I think that it is less bad than anything else. Others disagree and say that, as bad as the lack of organisation that would from anarchy would be, it is still preferable to having their lives dictated by others.
Not only is it compulsory to vote, but the Australian federal government will soon be giving itself (a present for itself! How kind) the power to get contact details from third parties so that it can ensure that everyone has the full voting franchise.
But Kevin Rudd is there with an excuse. The reason that we need to go invade everyone's privacy is not something that the government is doing willingly. Rather, it is something that it feels that it has to do for the good of the people. If they don't, some people may be disenfranchised. The goal is that everyone is – how I hate this word – empowered. (Not the concept itself, you understand. It's just that every time that it is ever used, it relates to giving people and entitlement that they had anyway. In this case, giving them the right to vote, when they already had that right).
Never mind that there is a welter of advertising before any election means that everyone must be aware already. Never mind that there are those who see voting as taking away from their rights, not adding to them. Never mind that there may be those who find all parties so unappealing that they don't want to be seen to endorse any of them. Never mind that the only one to suffer if you don't vote is you. Never mind that the whole thing is a lottery when you do it this way. Never mind that people have a right not to have their information collected by the state, unless it is essential. Never mind that my Saturday afternoon is mine to spend as I please, and whether or not I vote is my choice.
No, none of these things is important. The only conclusion that we can draw from an eligible person failing to vote is that he is a disgrace to his country, and must be punished. At times like this, I'm very pleased that I'm a resident and not a citizen.