A good friend of ours has worked at fairly senior levels of politics in both the USA and Australia. His observations and conclusions of compulsory verses voluntary voting systems is that both have positive and negative aspects to them, with neither system overwhelmingly superior to the other. I’m content to accept his experience.

If individuals in Australia choose not to vote, or record a ‘donkey vote’, perhaps that’s because they believe the old adage - no matter who you vote for, a politician gets elected

Hi Indy,

To answer your question;

I'm not sure when or where I heard or read about that informal votes actually get automatically added to the votes of the incumbent ! Correct me if I'm wrong?
WRONG, they are not added to anyone's pile of votes.
Indy, you've got to stop listening to those voices in your head!

Hi Aries54

Don't worry, if the Lovely Pauline ever gets to run the country, she'll soon abolish compulsory voting, and voluntary voting as well, in fact she will abolish voting completely, as an unnecessary evil in a true democracy.

The fairest election I can recall, was Papa Doc of Haiti, or was it Baby Doc, son of Papa Doc. Had an election for Haiti's President and Doc scored 6 million odd votes, to nil for the other bloke, in a population of about 2 million. The votes had been counted overnight at the Presidential Palace by Doc and the gang, it was a quick count. When questioned why he received 6 million votes in a population of only 2 million people, Doc exclaimed that it was impossible to stop Haitians from voting over and over for him, as they loved him so much, even his brother-in-law the official Opposition candidate endorsed by Doc, voted for Doc. Now that's real democracy in action!

People who choose not to have children forget that they will one day be old.
Then they will almost certainly need someone to look after them, at least part of the time.
If they haven't helped to provide a younger generation to do this, someone else's children will have to step in to the breach.
By shirking the responsibility of having children, they have shifted their needs on to the shoulders of others.
Some might think that unfair?

Voting is the same in a way.
Like it or not, we are born in to this democracy.
And we benefit from it.
It behooves us to support the system which supports us.
Not shirk simple participation.
Not shift responsibility on to the shoulders of others.

And I am suspicious of those who try to dismantle our democracy.
Using honeyed words to say: 'don't bother, someone else will do it'.
That is a downward path.

People who benefit from the previous generation's efforts & criticise them won't have the empathy from the next generation nor do they deserve it ! That's how societies have & will continue to erode !