A Grown Up Matter

Today I'd like to share my view on a very important topic, that is on the list of Galen's Weekend Engagement topics. There are a lot of good ones, as always and I actually chose two, but the one I'd like to discuss today is Compulsory voting.

Before I say anything, let's see what Compulsory voting means.

Compulsory voting occurs when a state or nation requires all of its citizens to vote. In many countries today, voting is required by law. But in most cases, the penalty for not complying is so mild that the term "compulsory" is a bit of a misnomer. source

There was a time, when voting was compulsory in my country, but back then I had no right to vote, so I only know what my parents told me. It was a joke really, as there was one presidential candidate (always the same), one political party (always the same), so you went to vote to escape being fined and maybe jailed, but you had no real options. Everything was decided from the start, it was just a charade.

Today voting in my country is guaranteed, you have the right to vote and the obligation too (in my opinion), but it's not compulsory. You can choose to stay away from decision making and let others decide for you.

Over the years I've been watching people complaining about their living condition, economic situation of their country, inflation, political affairs and so on. No one is ever satisfied, there's always someone complaining for various reasons. Usually I like to mind my own business and don't like to look for trouble, but sometimes I ask these people if they voted at the last election. Not that it's a surprise, but in the majority of the cases they say NO. The reasons are the following: because there's always what they want. When I ask who are they and what is that they want, the answer is those who are elected and they fill their own pockets, instead of helping the poor.

Voting takes a few minutes. The actual voting takes even less as verification takes more and maybe staying in line, but placing a stamp on a paper is a matter of seconds. Choosing a candidate, or a party to vote on is the hardest part as you need to do your own research and see which one is promising what you need or who's the person who can represent the country best. This takes time and it's a huge responsibility because in case you vote the wrong person, you need to wait for 4 or 5 years to have another chance to change something. So it's always easier to complain, blame others and do nothing to improve the situation. It was never their decision and these people think they have no responsibility, but have the right to complain.

In case of compulsory voting, you have the obligation to go to vote and it's a must by law. I had a look around to see what are the fines for failing to vote. Looks like in the majority of countries fines are small, but in Belgium you can go to jail if you fail to vote in at least four elections.

Even though I think every adult citizen should vote, I don't think voting should be compulsory. Those who don't like any of the candidates will make their vote to be invalid anyway and those who want to vote will go to vote anyway. Voting blindly just because the law requires you, can have serious consequences.

A lot of people died, so we can vote freely today. We're slowly moving towards a decentralized world. Steps are small, the process is long and sometimes things are not moving at all. Some political parties would do anything to stop change and keep their obsolete system in place, in order not to lose their position, while others are more open to change.

Not voting anyone means you're accepting the decision others are making for you. You have the chance to change something and you give it up. In that case you have no right to complain. No one should tell you to go to vote, it is your responsibility as a citizen. You have been given a right to have a say in decision making, so use it!

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