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In Australia we have mandatory voting. The worst we got was Scott Morrison, and that was pretty awful. But he isn’t patch on your current president. If you had

In Australia we have mandatory voting. The worst we got was Scott Morrison, and that was pretty awful. But he isn’t patch on your current president. If you had mandatory voting (and a sane polling day) you’re likely have a better represented Congress and Senate. Instead, you have Trump.

actionfromafar 2y ago
Yes, that's explicitly the point. Districts are working hard to make it difficult for the "wrong" (i.e. not likely MAGA) voter to vote.
rini17 2y ago
AFAIK with their serious issues with both social security numbers and voting implementations itself, I don't think they would be able to effectively enforce that.
- chris_wot 2y ago
  Yeah, we don’t worry about TFNs or anything like that. We mark off our name with our address and roll, and just show our drivers license which is the best form of identification in Australia. We vote on the weekend. We all go and buy democracy sausage and a drink for the local school we vote at and we respectfully queue up for a short time period and vote quietly. Nobody tries to arrest us for offering a water bottle to people in the queue. We are kind of sane. I wish you guys could experience it!
throw0101d 2y ago
> If you had mandatory voting (and a sane polling day) you’re likely have a better represented Congress and Senate. There are/were active programs to manipulate representation even if people voted: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP
crazygringo 2y ago
Actually, recent data shows people who didn't vote are even more biased towards Trump than those who did, when they've been surveyed. There are a of problems we need to fix. Mandatory voting doesn't seem to be the solution though.
- technothrasher 2y ago
  Does that match surveys done before the election for people not likely to vote? Are those people really supporting Trump or are the supporting whomever was elected? (I don't know the answer, I just thought of the question reading your post)
DanHulton 2y ago
Mandatory voting, election day a holiday, free transit on election day, and BBQ cookouts at all polling stations. If I ever run for office, this (plus replacing first-past-the-post) might be the entirety of my platform.
duxup 2y ago
I'd like to see the US try ranked choice voting.
- chris_wot 2y ago
  We have preferential voting. It’s got issues, but it’s still better than the electoral college.
  - duxup 2y ago
    Agreed, anything is better than just two choices or a straight "this is a vote for that" kinda deal.
lokar 2y ago
Don’t you also have get a free sausage when you vote? Honestly, that alone might be enough.
- chris_wot 2y ago
  No, we pay for it. Goes to the local school we vote at normally. We kind of like spending money on public schools :-) Every so often someone brings in their dachshunds and everyone comments on the democracy sausage dogs, and the local politicians all pose for a picture with them.
  - lokar 2y ago
    Huh, the last time I visited Sydney for work the locals were discussing which polling place had the best food/snack, mostly some kind of grilled meat
    - chris_wot 2y ago
      Some areas go full on gourmet. Others just do a sausage sizzle. Depends where you are. Sydney is huge.
Kapura 2y ago
Mandatory Voting wouldn't have saved us; the democrats are feckless and failed to provide a coherent counter-narrative to obvious fascist saber rattling.
nuclearnice3 2y ago
They might. I don’t rule it out. I have a more cynical view of the capabilities of the electorate. Another possible interpretation is Trump brought in a lot of uniformed voters. That group brings people who don’t care about policy or fall for his repeated lies or like his rhetorical style. It’s not about achieving good policy, but about feeling like you are winning a realty TV style game. Bringing in more uninformed voters through mandatory voting, will exacerbate the treatment of policies and politics as entertainment. That evolution will attract worse candidates and generate worse policy outcomes.

actionfromafar 2y ago

Yes, that's explicitly the point. Districts are working hard to make it difficult for the "wrong" (i.e. not likely MAGA) voter to vote.

rini17 2y ago

AFAIK with their serious issues with both social security numbers and voting implementations itself, I don't think they would be able to effectively enforce that.

chris_wot 2y ago
Yeah, we don’t worry about TFNs or anything like that. We mark off our name with our address and roll, and just show our drivers license which is the best form of identification in Australia. We vote on the weekend. We all go and buy democracy sausage and a drink for the local school we vote at and we respectfully queue up for a short time period and vote quietly. Nobody tries to arrest us for offering a water bottle to people in the queue. We are kind of sane. I wish you guys could experience it!

throw0101d 2y ago

> If you had mandatory voting (and a sane polling day) you’re likely have a better represented Congress and Senate. There are/were active programs to manipulate representation even if people voted: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REDMAP

crazygringo 2y ago

Actually, recent data shows people who didn't vote are even more biased towards Trump than those who did, when they've been surveyed. There are a of problems we need to fix. Mandatory voting doesn't seem to be the solution though.

technothrasher 2y ago
Does that match surveys done before the election for people not likely to vote? Are those people really supporting Trump or are the supporting whomever was elected? (I don't know the answer, I just thought of the question reading your post)

DanHulton 2y ago

Mandatory voting, election day a holiday, free transit on election day, and BBQ cookouts at all polling stations. If I ever run for office, this (plus replacing first-past-the-post) might be the entirety of my platform.

duxup 2y ago

I'd like to see the US try ranked choice voting.

chris_wot 2y ago
We have preferential voting. It’s got issues, but it’s still better than the electoral college.
- duxup 2y ago
  Agreed, anything is better than just two choices or a straight "this is a vote for that" kinda deal.

lokar 2y ago

Don’t you also have get a free sausage when you vote? Honestly, that alone might be enough.

chris_wot 2y ago
No, we pay for it. Goes to the local school we vote at normally. We kind of like spending money on public schools :-) Every so often someone brings in their dachshunds and everyone comments on the democracy sausage dogs, and the local politicians all pose for a picture with them.
- lokar 2y ago
  Huh, the last time I visited Sydney for work the locals were discussing which polling place had the best food/snack, mostly some kind of grilled meat
  - chris_wot 2y ago
    Some areas go full on gourmet. Others just do a sausage sizzle. Depends where you are. Sydney is huge.

Kapura 2y ago

Mandatory Voting wouldn't have saved us; the democrats are feckless and failed to provide a coherent counter-narrative to obvious fascist saber rattling.

nuclearnice3 2y ago

They might. I don’t rule it out. I have a more cynical view of the capabilities of the electorate. Another possible interpretation is Trump brought in a lot of uniformed voters. That group brings people who don’t care about policy or fall for his repeated lies or like his rhetorical style. It’s not about achieving good policy, but about feeling like you are winning a realty TV style game. Bringing in more uninformed voters through mandatory voting, will exacerbate the treatment of policies and politics as entertainment. That evolution will attract worse candidates and generate worse policy outcomes.