Date: December 8th, 2003 08:45 am (UTC)From:karen2205
I'm not keen on the idea of complusory voting at all - the right to choose *not* to vote is as important as the right to make one's selection between the candidates on offer.
However, if there was a proper RON option - which resulted in nominations reopening if it won, a specific 'abstain' option, no penalty for spoiling one's ballot paper and the right to campaign to encourage others to one of the above three things (seriously - in one country (I think it was Germany) someone was sucessfully prosecuted for encouraging others to spoil their ballots, and even though completing ballots like that was perfectly lawful, it was unlawful for him to encourage others to do so) then I could just about live with it.
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Date: December 8th, 2003 08:45 am (UTC)From:However, if there was a proper RON option - which resulted in nominations reopening if it won, a specific 'abstain' option, no penalty for spoiling one's ballot paper and the right to campaign to encourage others to one of the above three things (seriously - in one country (I think it was Germany) someone was sucessfully prosecuted for encouraging others to spoil their ballots, and even though completing ballots like that was perfectly lawful, it was unlawful for him to encourage others to do so) then I could just about live with it.