These disparities are particularly stark in the UK. At the July 2024 general election, turnout was more than 10 points higher amongst white voters than ethnic minorities, more than 20 points higher amongst upper-class voters than working-class voters, and more than 30 points higher amongst over-65s than under-65s and amongst homeowners than renters, according to data from Ipsos-Mori.
The result of these disparities is that our elections are now decided by an unrepresentative electorate – one that is richer, older, whiter, and more secure than the general public. This has important political implications.
Numerous studies globally have found that politicians pay disproportionate attention to the interests of over-represented high turnout groups and less to the needs of those demographics that are less likely to vote.
In practice, this means that the interests of the wealthy, elderly, privileged and secure are prioritised over those of the young, the poor, the insecure, and the marginalised. Drastic turnout inequalities are thus strongly associated with lower levels of redistributive spending and higher levels of socio-economic inequality. Combating low turnout should therefore be a priority for anyone concerned with inequality.
Here in the UK, democratic reformers seeking to improve turnout commonly propose a standard range of measures, such as automatic voter registration, more accessible elections, and a shift from first-past-the-post to a proportional electoral system. While these are all potentially beneficial changes, they are unlikely to increase the number of voters enough to overcome the turnout inequalities between different demographic groups.
Activists and campaigners should therefore have the courage to embrace the one reform demonstrably capable of drastically increasing turnout: the introduction of compulsory voting. This would see all eligible voters legally obliged to participate in elections and fined if they fail to do so.
Far from being some new-fangled authoritarian innovation, compulsory voting is a long-standing practice currently used in 22 democracies across the world, including Australia, Belgium, Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil.
Compulsory voting does not oblige anybody to vote for a party: those who wish to do so may spoil their ballots, or (in some versions) vote for a 'none of the above' option. Penalties for not voting at all also tend to be minimal. In Australia, for example, non-voter penalties are set at AUS$20 (slightly less than £10) – five times less than the average UK parking fine.
Despite being a relatively minor imposition on any given individual (and thus not, in any meaningful sense, an infringement on personal freedom), the aggregate effect of compulsory voting is substantial. Firstly, it demonstrably boosts electoral participation far more effectively than any other single reform – countries such as Belgium and Australia, where compulsory voting is used, regularly see some of the highest levels of voter turnout in the world, typically at around 90%. It also sharply limits the extent of turnout inequalities, ensuring the electorate is broadly reflective of the population.
Crucially, this has been shown to have a wider egalitarian impact on politics and society: studies have found that compulsory voting leads to lower inequalities in income and wealth, a more generous welfare state, higher levels of social investment, and (perhaps relatedly) higher levels of satisfaction with democracy.
Compulsory voting should be understood not as a punitive measure designed to punish the apathetic, but as a means of rebalancing our democracy towards the interests of those marginalised groups who are currently underrepresented in our politics.
Throughout history, few reforms have been as impactful as those that have brought previously excluded groups into the electorate. Women's suffrage, the extension of the franchise to the working classes, and civil rights in the US all transformed not only politics but also society, by giving a voice to the marginalised, and so forcing politicians to take account of their interests.
Today, as democracy faces new threats and societies grow more starkly unequal, it is time to once again expand the range of voices heard within the democratic system. By introducing compulsory voting here in the UK, we can bring those currently alienated, marginalised and ignored into the centre of our politics, to create first a more equal electorate, and ultimately a more equal society.
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