Voting is compulsory in Australia at all federal elections for all eligible persons. Compulsory voting thus ensures the highest possible turnout of electors. Compulsory voting is not unique to Australia and is used in countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Italy and Singapore.
Compulsory enrolment and compulsory voting were first introduced in Queensland, where a non-Labor government hoped that it would discourage apathy among Australian electors there. Compulsory enrolment was written into the Commonwealth Electoral Act in 1911 but compulsory voting was not introduced until 1924 by a National Country Party government.
The term compulsory voting is in fact a misnomer. The Australian electoral Acts enforce compulsory attendance, with names checked on the electoral roll. In a democracy, no electoral law can enforce a compulsory vote because any such attempt would breach the principle of the secret ballot.
Political parties in Australia gain major benefits from compulsory voting. In most democratic nations without compulsory voting, parties firstly have to convince electors to turn out to vote and convince them that it is to their benefit if they do and secondly they have to convince voters to vote for them. The first task is done for the political parties in Australia by compulsory attendance legislation, so they can concentrate on winning support.
This graph indicates voter turnout for the last five elections.
There have been a number of analyses of compulsory voting and its effects, assets and shortcomings from many perspectives including Hughes(1966), Emy(1974), May(1972) and Smith(1983) and Jaensch(1995).
Arguments supporting compulsory voting include:
Some arguments against compulsory voting are:
It is interesting to note that all major political parties have argued in favour of the retention of compulsory voting despite their ideological differences reflecting the way party self-interest can play a major role in electoral systems. The certainty that voters will turn out is more attractive than the element of uncertainty that voluntary voting would bring.
On election day, always a Saturday, polling places, usually local schools or public buildings, are open for voting from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Voters have their names crossed off the electoral roll, mark their ballot papers in secret at a voting screen and place them in the appropriate ballot boxes. Scrutineers, representatives of candidates or political parties check that the correct procedures are followed when ballot papers are issued and when votes are counted.
Voters can vote:
The process of transforming votes into seats in the relevant house of parliament begins. Federal, state and local means of translating votes into seats are different and a voter may face five or six different systems of voting in one year of electoral participation. By contrast, most other democratic nations use the same system across all electoral contests.
The voting systems for the two Australian houses of parliament are characteristically different.
In a House of Representatives election, a 'preferential system of voting' is used. Every square on the green ballot paper must be numbered. A number 1 is placed beside the most preferred candidate and then the numbers 2, 3, 4, and so on to indicate an order of preference for the remaining candidates. The order of the candidates is determined randomly by a draw conducted by Divisional Returning Officers. If any candidate gains more than 50% of the first preference votes, an absolute majority, he/she is elected. If no candidate has an absolute majority the voters other preferences are taken into consideration.
The Parliament is formed by the leader of the party or coalition of parties with an absolute majority in the House of Representatives. The leader becomes the Prime Minister. The party or coaltion of parties with the next highest number of members becomes the Opposition. It's leader is known as the Leader of the Opposition.
In the Senate election, the system of voting is known as Proportional Representation. Under this system candidates must receive a certain number of votes, known as a quota, to be elected. The quota is a minimum number of votes necessary for a candidate(party) to win one seat in the parliament.
The Senate ballot paper is white and is divided into two sections. The order of the candidates on the ballot paper is also determined rendomly by a draw conducted by the relevant state or territory Australian Electoral Officer. Electors must vote in either the top section or the bottom section. In the top section only one box needs to be numbered. A number 1 must be placed in the box above the party or group most preferred. In the bottom section, the method of voting is identical to that for the House of Representatives. Electors put a number 1 beside the candidate of their first choice, the number 2 beside the candidate they want a their secods choice and so on until all the squares have been filled. Preferences are then distributed according to the way the party or group has registered them with the Australian Electoral Commission. This is known as a 'Ticket Vote'.
Donkeys are for Dills!
Before 1984 when a major revision of the Electoral Act was carried out, about 3% of voters who cast formal votes, whether through confusion arising out of the complex system or by deliberate choice, cast a donkey vote. That is, they numbered the boxes on their ballot papers from top to bottom or from bottom to top regardless of their favoured party or candidate. So in an election with a large number of candidates or the possibility of a close result, the position of the candidates names on the ballot paper was important. Some parties sought candidates with surnames beginning with A, B, C to gain electoral advantage from donkey votes which do count. Since 1984, the order of the candidates name on the ballot paper is balloted but the donkey vote still occurs.
Informal voting occurs when people do not fill out their ballot paper correctly
Examples of informal voting are:
This graph shows the percentage of informal votes for the last five federal elections for the House of Representatives.
Click on the graph for the Senate informal votes. 
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The following is a discussion on First-past-the Post voting used in the United Kingdom and other European countries and the Proportional Representation system of voting used in Australia in the House of Representatives.
Britain has a two party system as a result of First Past the Post and as a result fundamental fail to receive real debate. Britain has seen a major shift of power to Europe with no democratic debate. This is because the division on Europe has been within the two main parties. In any sensible political system the pro-Europe and the anti-Europe factions of the Tory Party would split but they are bound together because to fight an election separately would be electoral suicide.
In 1983 a fundamental issue did force it's way into the political system when Labour fought on a platform of unilateral disarmament. At the time it was the hottest political issue with CND able to mobilise unprecedented numbers at demonstrations. During the election at a nonviolent protest at a nuclear bomber base 750 peace campaigners were arrested. Yet still there was no real debate. Before the election the debate had been between CND supporters and the government. Once the election began the media focused on the Labour Party defence spokespeople who clearly did not believe in the policy they were advocating. The result was an electoral disaster for labour that only the distortions of First Past the Post could cover up.
Democracy is about the will of the people. That means without distortion. If one can justify First Past the Post on grounds of stability then it is hard to see why any form of gerrymandering could not be justified. Proportional Representation is about choice. It is about voters having the chance to vote for a party that genuinely reflects their views, not a lesser evil. It is about flexibility. It is about new movements being able to find a place in the political system as the peace movement should have been able to in 1983. It is also about change coming only when there is majority support.
Single Transferable vote is the usual form of Proportional Representation advocated in Britain but it is only a crude form of PR. Proportional Representation should be just that. The parties should get the same proportion of seats as votes. No more no less. List PR is the only way of ensuring this.'
Fact Sheets 9 and 10, Australian Electoral Commission, May 1995.
Australian Democracy, Australian Electoral Commission, Canberra 1995.
Donkey vote - Election! How and Why Australia Votes, D Jaensch, St Leonards, 1995.
Voting systems - 1994 Electoral Pocket Book, Australian Electoral Commission, 1994.
Election results graphs - Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission. The People's Say, Australian Electoral Commission, Canberra, ACT, 1994.
'Be part of the Power - Enrol to Vote' image - Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission. Designed by Rex Murray
Source for discussion on First-Past-the-Post and Proportional Representation - http://www.warwick.ac.uk/~esrhi/vote/listPR.html
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