Do you think Voting for Governments should be Compulsory?

Believe it or not, jenny, I have never voted not even once in my life yet. I was considered an "alien" in the country where I was born. I'm not a Filipino but of different and mix nationality. For us "alien", we don't have the privilege to vote. That's why we don't care much about who is running for the government seat. There is an election coming up here and I didn't bother to check or update myself about it. I find it ridiculous that until now, I don't have a country which I can called my own. It will be interesting if voting will be open for everyone who was born here.

I also live in Australia and the way I see it, if you don't enrol to vote then you have no right to complain about how the country is run. I think it should be like that in all countries. That way, you have your vote then you have your right to say anything, you don't vote then don't complain. I love the fact we HAVE to vote, but then it would not matter anyway, it's always where the preference votes go that matter.

In Canada it is not compulsory to have to vote and I don't believe it should be . If it was compulsory you would have individuals just jotting down a name and not knowing what or why they were really voting for as not everyone is up on politics . I believe that anyone who is of legal age that wants to vote should have the option as one year I was in the hospital and they did allow me out so that I could go vote but I don't believe it is something that should be compulsory just on the basis that there are a lot of people who don't watch any of the elections and don't pay any attention to anything that is going on around them and would not be a good judge to vote .

Voting is compulsory in Singapore too. The good thing though is that the voting itself is quite fast - and the polling station is typically within walking distance. And the best thing is that after the voting, the entire day is a public holiday.

I don't believe that our vote counts. Just looking at those who are running the country,I can't believe they were voted in. I go and vote anyway, just in case, but the ones I vote for never get elected. I don't know how compulsory voting would help if the elections are rigged anyway. I'm in the US where there have been questionable election results, played down by the media.

Here in Philippines voting is not compulsory. I'm the one not voting this coming election. they used their position for corruption I felt sorry for my fellow Filipinos.

I agree that it would be helpful to have a more general representation in elections, here in the US, but I am a very hands off person. I do not like the government managing every aspect of my life. Of course, one could argue that it is not different than tagging your dog.

Thats good,it must be so that everyones both is counted..but here in our country its not that compulsory though..but i do vote its our rights actually as a citizen in our respective country

I dont think you should be forced to vote in the usa. You may not have a canidate that you support or trust to vote for. I dont think anyone should vote unless they truly believe in the canidate and have very good reasons to believe he or she will do the best job possible.

Well, that would certainly get people to show up to vote! I think it should be up to the individual as to whether or not they want to vote. I have dual citizenship with Us and UK voting rights. I wouldn't want anyone telling me I had to vote. I vote because I want to. It shouldn't have anything to do with wealth but it does. I would prefer someone who knows how to work for a living. People living on a tight budget wouldn't be able to afford to pay the fine. Too much big brother in your face.

In our country, like most of the countries, voting is not compulsory. But, I feel it would be better to make it compulsory because when a government is formed, every body is affected. This would also imply that everybody is expected to have sense of responsibility. Statistically also, it would improve the quality of data if all people participate in voting.

Absolutely because it is not only your right and privilege, its your DUTY...here in Canada, it is the same as the US, a lot of people don't vote because they are lazy... how high is the fine? that should definitely be the case here in Canada (hey if you don't vote you have NO right to complain :-)

I think you should be ready to choose your leader I don't see any importance in refusing to vote, voting should be compulsary to avoid regrets in future so I advise people to vote for the benefit of their country and for their own sake also.

Definitely not. Although some people would say that with a compulsory voting system voters would be given the option on the ballot paper to abstain (as they are in Australia) it still makes a mockery (in a sense) of the system. Not turning up is as powerful a gesture as voting; you may see it as apathy, but if I think nothing of the candidates then I will stay at home just to show them how disillusioned I am. Forcing people to take part in a democratic process they don't believe in is wrong; if someone in the UK for example believed in proportional representation, how could you make them participate in a first-past-the-post election. There's something quite sinister about the whole thing.

yeah..why not.... since we people will blame the government for all the social troubles we face...it is on the hands of the people to choose the leader for them..in our country we have an option for selecting "not to vote for any one".so,that others cannot duplicate your vote..

I live in Australia too and although voting is compulsary as you say Jenny there are some loop holes and some people cannot vote either depending on their Australian residency status. If you are not an Australian citizen and are just say a permanant resident then you cannot vote, also if you do not enroll and do not vote you cannot be found if you have moved address's and therefore cannot be fined for NOT voting. UK do not have compulsary voting either.

I am from India. Here voting is not compulsary. Actually it must be compulsory. But in a vast nation like India where the population exceeds a trillion and a considerable percentage are illeterate it is impractical. Even then India is considered the larest democratic country in the world - in terms of population. We provide polling booths at walkable distance too and the day of voting is a holiday. I strongly support compulsory voting.

In my country.the system was called musyawarah to get the decision by all of the goverment council argue their opinion and we will get an agreement.for decision making,voting is the second choice to get the policy or agreement ...

here in china we do not vote, no democracy,