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Sources · Compulsory voting

This house would make voting compulsory.

Fact bank v1 · 11 cards

  1. CV-01True

    “Countries that make voting compulsory, and actually enforce it, get much higher turnout.”

    Confirmed: in a 2022 Pew Research Center comparison of 50 countries, turnout averaged 78.2% of adults of voting age in the eight that enforce compulsory voting, against 65% in the countries with no such law.

    Comparing countries can't prove on its own that the law caused the difference, but studies of places that changed their rules point the same way. In Austria, where states brought in and dropped compulsory voting at different times, it raised turnout by roughly 10 percentage points, even with only weakly enforced fines. In the Swiss region of Vaud, which had it from 1925 to 1948, it raised turnout in national referendums by about 30 percentage points.

    “In the eight countries examined that enforce compulsory-voting laws, voting-age turnout averaged 78.2% in the most recent election”
    Pew Research Center·Turnout in U.S. has soared in recent elections but by some measures still trails that of many other countriesIndependent research institute · 1 Nov 2022 ↗

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  2. CV-02Mostly true

    “Compulsory voting closes the gap between who votes and who doesn't, so less educated and poorer people get heard.”

    Mostly right about who turns up to vote. When the Netherlands dropped compulsory voting in 1970, turnout had been over 90% in every social group, but afterwards it fell as low as 66% among people with the least schooling. Whether the extra voters then change what governments do is less clear (see CV-03).

    In the US, where voting is a choice, people who don't vote tend to be younger, poorer and less educated. In the 2024 election, 48% of nonvoters had only a high school education or less, compared with 28% of voters. The Dutch figures come from a study by the IPPR, a research group, quoted by the House of Commons Library. A study of Belgian voters found compulsory voting does bring more uninterested and less informed people to vote, but it doubted that this means everyone's views end up fairly represented (see CV-07).

    “Turnout inequality increased significantly when the Netherlands abolished compulsory turnout laws in 1970.”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·Compulsory voting (House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 00954)Government / parliament · 30 Sept 2015 ↗

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  3. CV-03Mixed

    “Making voting compulsory doesn't change who wins or what governments do, so it's pointless.”

    It depends on the place. In Austria, compulsory voting raised turnout, but researchers found no sign that it changed election results or government spending. In the Swiss region of Vaud, though, it raised support for left-wing positions in referendums by up to 20 percentage points.

    The Austrian researchers think the extra voters were more likely to have no party loyalty, little interest in politics and little information. The Vaud researchers argue compulsory voting brought in more people on low incomes, who leaned left. A study of Belgian voters notes that earlier research usually found only small effects on which parties win.

    “we find no evidence that this change in turnout affected government spending patterns (in levels or composition) or electoral outcomes”
    National Bureau of Economic Research·Compulsory Voting, Turnout, and Government Spending: Evidence from Austria (NBER Working Paper 22221)Independent research institute · 1 May 2016 ↗

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  4. CV-04Mostly false

    “If everyone in America had to vote, the Democrats would win every time.”

    Not really. In 2024, Americans who didn't vote were fairly evenly split: 44% said they would have backed Trump and 40% Harris. Pew Research Center found the popular vote margin likely would not have been much different if everyone had voted.

    Nonvoters did lean Democratic in earlier elections, going back to at least the 1960s. In 2020 they preferred Biden 46% to 35%, so a full turnout would probably have widened his win. A study of presidential elections from 1992 to 2004 found nonvoters were usually just slightly more Democratic than voters, enough to tip only extremely close races such as 2000 or 2004.

    “people eligible to vote who did not do so were fairly evenly split in their preferences”
    Pew Research Center·Behind Trump's 2024 Victory, a More Racially and Ethnically Diverse Voter CoalitionIndependent research institute · 26 Jun 2025 ↗

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  5. CV-05Unsupported

    “Forcing people to vote makes them learn more about politics and get more involved.”

    There's little evidence for this. A study of election surveys from many countries found no effect of compulsory voting on how much people know about politics.

    Another study, summed up by the House of Commons Library, linked compulsory voting to more trust in politics, but found it did not spill over into other kinds of community or civic activity. Compulsory voting reliably gets more people to vote (see CV-01), but the evidence that it makes them better informed is weak.

    “In a separate analysis, we did not observe any effect of compulsory voting on levels of political knowledge.”
    West European Politics (Taylor & Francis)·The impact of compulsory voting on inequality and the quality of the vote (West European Politics 40(3), 2017)Peer-reviewed research · 18 Jan 2017 ↗

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  6. CV-06Mostly false

    “People in countries with compulsory voting resent being forced and want it scrapped.”

    Not in Australia, one of the best-known examples. In a 2013 Australian National University poll, 68% of Australians supported compulsory voting, and support has stayed high for decades.

    Support was 60% when pollsters first asked in 1943, and it peaked at 77% in 1969. Some countries have dropped compulsory voting, such as the Netherlands in 1970, and some people in Australia want it gone too. But in these polls they have been the minority. These figures come from a 2015 House of Commons Library briefing, so newer polls may differ.

    “In a poll conducted in 2013 68 per cent supported compulsory voting”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·Compulsory voting (House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 00954)Government / parliament · 30 Sept 2015 ↗
  7. CV-07Mostly true

    “Compulsory voting drags uninterested people to the polls, and their votes don't really match their own views.”

    Largely supported: a study of Belgian voters found compulsory voting brings many uninterested and less knowledgeable people to the polls, and their votes fit their own political views clearly less well than the votes of people who would turn out anyway.

    In Austria, people who voted only because it was compulsory were more likely to have no party loyalty, little interest in politics and little information. A study across many countries found compulsory voting makes people less likely to pick the party closest to their own views. But the same study found voters still judged governments on the economy just as much (see CV-11).

    “CV compels a substantial share of uninterested and less knowledgeable voters to the polls”
    European Journal of Political Research (Wiley)·The more, the better? Counterfactual evidence on the effect of compulsory voting on the consistency of party choice (European Journal of Political Research)Peer-reviewed research · 8 Jul 2009 ↗

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  8. CV-08Mixed

    “Under compulsory voting, loads of people just spoil their ballots in protest.”

    Compulsory voting does lead to more spoiled and blank ballots, but the numbers are fairly small and many are mistakes, not protests. In Australia, 5.1% of federal votes were invalid in 2022, but fewer than 2% of voters usually spoil their ballot on purpose.

    A study of 417 elections in 73 countries from 1970 to 2011 found that enforced compulsory voting is a strong predictor of invalid votes. In Australia, the invalid share of federal votes has risen from 2.5% in 1977. Research in the state of Victoria found people who deliberately spoil their ballot tend to be uninterested in politics or unhappy with democracy or the candidates.

    “enforced compulsory voting and ethnic fragmentation are strong predictors for invalid voting”
    Democratization (Taylor & Francis)·Compulsory voting and ethnic diversity increase invalid voting while corruption does not: an analysis of 417 parliamentary elections in 73 countries (Democratization)Peer-reviewed research · 28 Sept 2018 ↗

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  9. CV-09Mostly false

    “Most people in Britain want voting to be made compulsory.”

    Older surveys don't back this up. Writing in 2014, an expert on the subject said surveys over the past decade had found again and again that only about a third of people in Britain would support compulsory voting.

    A committee of MPs also asked the public for their views. Its report, published in February 2015, found replies evenly split: just over 45% for and just over 45% against. But only people who chose to reply were counted, so that is not a poll of the whole country. A softer idea, making people vote just once in their first election, split opinion in a July 2013 survey: 38.4% agreed, 34.7% disagreed and 27.0% didn't know or had no view. In 2015 the UK government said it had no plans to bring in compulsory voting. These figures come from a 2015 House of Commons Library briefing, so newer polls may differ.

    “approximately a third of the population would support such a reform”
    House of Commons Library, UK Parliament·Compulsory voting (House of Commons Library Briefing Paper 00954)Government / parliament · 30 Sept 2015 ↗
  10. CV-10False

    “Just passing a law that makes voting compulsory guarantees high turnout.”

    No, enforcement matters. In Pew Research Center's 2022 comparison, the four countries with compulsory voting laws that aren't actively enforced averaged 57.6% turnout, lower than the 65% average in countries with no such law.

    In the eight countries that do enforce their laws, turnout averaged 78.2% (see CV-01). Around the world, 27 countries (and one Swiss canton) have compulsory voting laws, but only 14 of those countries actively enforce them, with penalties such as fines, losing access to some public services, or even prison. Pew notes that comparing turnout between countries is tricky.

    “compared with 57.6% in the four countries that have such laws on the books but don’t actively enforce them”
    Pew Research Center·Turnout in U.S. has soared in recent elections but by some measures still trails that of many other countriesIndependent research institute · 1 Nov 2022 ↗
  11. CV-11Mostly false

    “With compulsory voting, bad governments get away with it, because uninformed voters can't punish them at the ballot box.”

    A study of elections in many countries found compulsory voting had no effect on how much voters reward or punish governments for the state of the economy.

    The same study did find that compulsory voting makes people less likely to pick the party closest to their own views (see CV-07). So it may make votes a little less well matched to people's opinions, without stopping voters from judging how the government has done. This is one study, so it is not the final word.

    “but it does not have an effect on economic accountability”
    West European Politics (Taylor & Francis)·The impact of compulsory voting on inequality and the quality of the vote (West European Politics 40(3), 2017)Peer-reviewed research · 18 Jan 2017 ↗

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