[EM] compulsory voting

[James Gilmour]

> Chris Benham Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 5:29 PM
> I'm not sure how well compulsory voting would transplant to  other countries. The compulsion
> element could be viewed negatively compared to the ideal voluntary voting system, but it is 
> vastly better than real-world voluntary voting in places like the US.

I don't think it would go down very well in the UK.  I suspect that in the UK a substantial proportion of those who do
not want to vote would then not register to vote.  Registration is a legal requirement but substantial numbers do not
(for a variety of reasons).

Low turnout in the UK is strongly correlated with party, but the analysts say that the underlying driver is social
class, which is of course strongly correlated with party allegiance.

Even so, a within-winning-party analysis of constituency (single-member district) turnout shows a strong (statistically
significant) positive relationship between marginality and turnout.  The turnout is higher in the more marginal
constituencies and lower where there is a "safe seat".
James Gilmour