Compulsory voting does weed out the crazies because most people are a bit in the middle. The crazies are always a vocal minority who get most of the attention.
But the key thing about Australians is that the majority of us can recognise the shitfuckery and say “yeah nah” .
Plus we also don’t have a First Past The Post voting system (we have ranked choice voting and transferable votes) which minimises the amount of idiots who get in. But we also do have Queensland so some get in anyway (it’s our Florida).
I should also say we don’t have compulsory voting. We have compulsory “showing up”. You can do whatever you want to your ballot once you’ve turned up and had your name crossed off the voting role. Some draw cocks or purposely spoil their ballot paper. But most will actually vote properly.
As an Australian, and our compulsory voting, the thought of not voting is crazy to me.
This does mean it’s made exceptionally easy for us to vote, and care. It’s the antithesis of the US way where voter suppression is the goal.
A lot of Americans can’t imagine compulsory voting.
I can understand the concern - if you think of some of the idiots you know and think about forcing them to vote, it seems like a bad plan.
Ofc the reality is, all the normal people you know also vote, which creates a kind of inertia in the centre.
Compulsory voting does weed out the crazies because most people are a bit in the middle. The crazies are always a vocal minority who get most of the attention.
Wonder if that inspired Murdoch to be an asshole in the US
Nah I think he simply owned all the media in Australia already so started looking elsewhere.
“owns”
But the key thing about Australians is that the majority of us can recognise the shitfuckery and say “yeah nah” .
Plus we also don’t have a First Past The Post voting system (we have ranked choice voting and transferable votes) which minimises the amount of idiots who get in. But we also do have Queensland so some get in anyway (it’s our Florida).
I should also say we don’t have compulsory voting. We have compulsory “showing up”. You can do whatever you want to your ballot once you’ve turned up and had your name crossed off the voting role. Some draw cocks or purposely spoil their ballot paper. But most will actually vote properly.