It's mandatory to show up at a polling station and get your name checked off. You don't need to cast a valid vote. When I was younger I used to be against thi

It's mandatory to show up at a polling station and get your name checked off. You don't need to cast a valid vote. When I was younger I used to be against this system, but when I see all the problems with poor voter turnout, disenfranchisement of voters due to screwups (accidental and intentional) with voter registration, and large scale apathy going on with other elections around the world, I've decided that what we do in Australia is actually a good thing. We also schedule elections on a Saturday to make it easier for most people to get to a polling station.