Voting Should Be Compulsory

Justine Lacroix Fifth Re-­‐Bel Event 9th June 2011 Should the obligation to vote be abolished? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Is Compulsory Voting Justified in a Liberal Democracy ?

The normative debate on compulsory voting has recently known a revival in political theory1. One of the main issues at stake is whether compulsory voting should be considered as a liberal or as an illiberal practice. In this presentation, I will first consider the arguments put forward by the authors who consider that compulsory voting has no place in a liberal democracy. Against this conception, I will argue that compulsory voting is not only permissible by liberal standards, but actively required by them.

I. To be sure, all authors recognize that most liberals regard political participation as both intrinsically and instrumentally desirable. But the fact that liberals have historically championed the right to vote in no way commits them to an endorsement of compulsory voting. ‘For clearly it is one thing to fight for the right of all to be allowed to vote, and quite another to uphold a principle whereby all are made to do so’ (Austin,

References:   (2008),   “Is  (2009),  “Why   (2011),   “Compulsory   Annabelle   (2008),   (2007),   “A  (2009),  “Liberalism,