Compulsory Voting Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Invalid voting, meaning blank and spoiled ballots, is a regular phenomenon in democracies around the world. When its share is larger than the margin of victory or greater than the vote share of some of the large parties in the country, invalid voting becomes a problem for democratic legitimacy. This article investigates its determinants in 417 democratic parliamentary elections in 73 countries on five continents from 1970 to 2011. The analysis shows that enforced compulsory voting and ethnic fragmentation are strong predictors for invalid voting while corruption has less impact. Our findings suggest that the societal structure is crucial in understanding invalid voting as a problem for democratic legitimacy as greater social diversity seems to lead to either a greater rate of mistakes or lesser attachments of social groups to the democratic process. Thus, rising levels of invalid voting are not only concerning in themselves but also for the divisive factors driving them.

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- Comparative Politics, Voting Behavior, Political Science, Democratization

Invalid votes are often considered as simple failure to cast a valid vote. In fact, they might be a rational expression of discontent with party policy offerings. By employing individual and party system-level data on eighteen European party systems, this article focuses on voter discontent and voter apathy as two major determinants of casting an invalid vote and seeks to answer why some voters intentionally waste their votes despite paying the costs of voting. I find that higher distinct policy offerings decrease the probability of casting an invalid vote. However, voting behaviors of politically sophisticated and unsophisticated voters vary conditionally on the diversity of policy offerings and the cost of information. On one hand, when a party system offers a larger set of policy offerings, politically sophisticated voters become less likely to cast an invalid vote and more likely to support niche parties. On the other hand, sophisticated voters cannot deal with increasing cost of information, and are more likely to cast an invalid vote, especially in party systems with compulsory voting where the cost of nonvoting is higher.

- by Mert Moral
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- Voting Behavior, Political Participation, Compulsory Voting

Este artículo reexamina la idea de Lijphart (1997) de que el voto obligatorio sea un instrumento efectivo para reducir la desigualdad del ingreso con un diseño de investigación cuasi experimental basado en la técnica de matching. Los resultados muestran que el voto obligatorio no tiene un impacto significativo sobre las políticas redistributivas. En base a la experiencia de América Latina, donde predomina el voto obligatorio junto a alta desigualdad de ingresos, el artículo sostiene que el problema empírico del argumento lijphartiano se encuentra en el supuesto implícito de la existencia de un vínculo programático entre políticos y electores. Se sugiere como hipótesis alternativa que la combinación de alta participación electoral y alta desigualdad puede deberse a la prevalencia de un vínculo clientelar, frecuente en democracias con instituciones débiles.

- by Tomas Dosek
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- Political Sociology, Latin American Studies, Voting Behavior, Political Participation

How does the number of candidates competing in an election aect voting behavior? In theory, as the number of candidates running for oce increase, citizens' utility from voting also increases. With more candidates, voters are more likely to have candidates that are close to their ideal points. Practically, however, more candidates also means a higher cognitive burden for voters who must learn more during campaigns in order to nd their ideal candidate. In this paper, we examine how choice set size aects voting behavior. Using a survey experiment, we show that subjects presented with many options learn less about candidates, are more likely to vote based on meaningless heuristics, and are more likely to commit voting errors, when compared with subjects who choose between only a few candidates.

- by Andrew Janusz and +2
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- Cognitive Psychology, Voting Behavior, Brazilian Studies, Political Science

Mandatory voting has received public and scholarly interest as a solution for problems of unequal representation and policies that advantage the wealthy. Yet some oppose mandatory voting because it seems to coerce political expression, in violation of the human right to free expression. This article fundamentally reinterprets the point of mandatory voting as serving the self-identified purposes of citizens and so minimizes concerns about coercion. It uses survey evidence to show that mandatory voting can help the large majority of American citizens who believe they should vote to do so, thereby functioning as a precommitment mechanism. For the minority who do not think they should vote, mandatory voting functions as a nudge to surveillance which helps citizens protect their interests, whatever they may be, through encouraging surveillance of political actors. The argument concludes that mandatory voting would make all citizens better off by their own lights and without troubling coercion.

- by Kevin Elliott
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- Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Democratic Theory, Political Science

In her chapter, Anthoula Malkopoulou examines the history of compulsory voting in Europe by specifically revisiting the debates over the practice in Belgium and France at the turn of the twentieth century. Malkopoulou especially focuses on two principal arguments advanced in favour of compulsory voting in these historical debates: the ideas of ‘true’, ‘exact’, ‘accurate’ and ‘mirror’ representation, to which compulsory voting allegedly contributes; and the view that compulsory voting brings out the moderate vote. Furthermore, Malkopoulou argues, these arguments can also provide valuable conceptual resources for thinking about ways of countering the crisis of contemporary democracies.

Why conventional wisdom on voting in the political system is incorrect.

- by Keith Knight
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- Ethics, Legitimacy and Authority, Political Theory, Government

This study investigates the application of consumer behaviour theory to young Australian adults’ voting decision-making. Previous decision-making studies identified constructs of subjective knowledge, involvement, information seeking, satisfaction, confidence, and stability as key factors in voting decision-making. This research testes the relationship that these factors have with the consumer behaviour concept of usage. A new concept, commitment to vote, is also considered for Australia’s compulsory voting context. Data were gathered from a sample of 257 Australian citizens between the ages of 18 and 25. Exploratory factor analysis produced nine factors, and MANOVA and ANOVA were used to test the differences between three usage groups: voluntary users, involuntary users, and never trieds. The results illustrate that usage has a significant influence on information seeking, commitment to voting, satisfaction with voting choice, and stability in voting decision-making. Therefore, usage is a key element in voter decision-making and needs to be included in future studies.

- by Tiffany Winchester and +1
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- Voting Behavior, Youth Studies, Decision Making, Australian politics (Australia)

This paper addresses some residual misunderstandings about the effects of compulsory voting and, in particular, the effectiveness of compulsory voting laws as a mechanism to stimulate voting turnout. It also compares its efficacy with... more

- by Jonathon Louth and +1
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- Electoral Systems, Compulsory Voting

The analysis of Hooghe and Pelleriaux does not show better the validity of the Lijphart thesis on the impact of income and education on voting turnout, as they did not control for spurious relationships between explanatory variables. Also their operationalisation of the dependent variable is questionnable. Our multivariate analysis indicates that, in spite the control for interdependence of numerous explanatory variables, social status still emerges as a determinant of electoral turnout, which constitutes a much stronger validation of the Lijphart thesis.

- by Nadia Zubir
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- Political Science, Politics, Belgium, Compulsory Voting

Many academic and popular writers have argued that 'compulsory voting' is an illusion in Australia because it is not compulsory to fill out the ballot-paper. This is the orthodox assumption. I argue that this view is mistaken, and that the duty to vote clearly includes the marking of the paper. Whether and how the requirement is able to be enforced is a completely different question from whether it is indeed a requirement.

- by Helen Pringle
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- Voting, Compulsory Voting

Les électeurs choisissent-ils le parti qui leur correspond le mieux ? Disposer de plus d'informations entraîne-t-il plus d'hésitations avant de voter ? Comment les électeurs belges perçoivent-ils la démocratie ? Lors des dernières élections, plus de quarante pour cent des électeurs ont voté pour un autre parti que celui qu'ils avaient soutenu au scrutin précédent. Comment peut-on interpréter cette observation factuelle ? Qu'est-ce que cela nous apprend sur les réflexions des électeurs et sur l'état de notre système politique ? Décrypter l'électeur offre une vue complète sur les évolutions du paysage électoral belge. Les principaux chiffres et faits du dernier scrutin electoral sont présentés et disséqués. En outre, le livre propose toute une série d'analyses complémentaires sur des sujets comme les attitudes sousjacentes des électeurs, le débat communautaire ou le vote préférentiel. Des différences entre la Wallonie et la Flandre à la confiance des électeurs dans la démocratie : les principaux politologues belges proposent dans cet ouvrage l'une des synthèses les plus détaillées de l'électeur belge jamais publiée.

- by Pascal Delwit
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- Voting Behavior, Politics, Electoral Behavior, Electoral Systems

El cambio de las reglas electorales ha generado mucha investigación en Europa y, recientemente, en América Latina, aun cuando las reformas
han sido efectuadas en sentidos diferentes. Mientras en los países europeos los sistemas electorales tendieron a ser conservadores, muy estables y resistentes al cambio (Nohlen 1984, Lijphart 1995, Katz 2005, Rahat 2011), el ritmo reformista en América Latina ha sido mucho mayor, incluso llegando a ser frenético en algunos países (Negretto 2010, Marenco 2009, Freidenberg y Došek 2015). El hecho de que se tienda a modificar las reglas de juego de manera reiterada pone en cuestión la supuesta estabilidad de los sistemas políticos y condiciona el comportamiento de los actores que participan en ellos, por la transformación constante de los incentivos.

- by Tomas Dosek
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- Voting Behavior, Political Parties, Electoral Behavior, Electoral Systems

As a democratic institution, compulsory voting has its origins in the oldest European democracy, Athens. Greek philosophy is known for the significance it attaches to political engagement, which forms the backbone of the classical republican tradition. Despite the widely held view that political participation in Athenian democracy was mostly voluntary, ancient sources do provide evidence that such participation was in some cases legally enforced. Similarly, an institutional obligation to participate directly in the decision- making of small-scale political units survived in medieval and early modern communities. Later on, as modern democracies grew larger and became more representative, participation in indirect structures of decision-making contin- ued to be thought of as enforceable, or at least as a moral duty.

- by Anthoula Malkopoulou
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- Political Participation, Democratic Theory, Athenian Democracy, Democracy

"Presentations of the history of Australian democracy inevitably dwell on the innovative and early democratic practices of the colonies and, later, the nation. Compulsory voting is typically placed in this frame. This article challenges three key pillars of the accepted narrative of the Australian adoption of compulsory voting by placing nineteenth-century debates over the mandatory franchise in the Australian colonies in the context of other similar democracies in North America. It shows that compulsory voting debates in the colonies were contentious, protracted and motivated by negative experiences of democracy and a desire to limit or order democracy to ensure that engaged minorities did not overwhelm an apathetic majority.

- by Alexandru Volacu
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- Voting, Elections and Voting Behavior, Compulsory Voting, Ethics of Voting

In this article Jason Brennan’s arguments about the moral duties relating to our practice of voting are examined. These arguments provide an epistocratic approach of politics and present a conception of abstention at four levels: abstention as a personal choice, as a moral responsibility, as a duty legally enforceable and as an obligation decided by lot. The contrast with John Stuart Mill’s positions helps to highlight the postdemocratic ambivalences and the latent paternalism behind Brennan’s rejection of massive voting and electoral democracy. A deliberative, Millian-inspired understanding of abstention also allows questioning the assumption in Brennan’s successive proposals that there is no significant loss in overlooking the political valence of qualified abstention.

- by Francisco Javier Gil Martín
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- Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Libertarianism, Voting

Precies een jaar na de regionale verkiezingen van 7 juni 2009 verschijnt bij VUBPRESS het boek De stemmen van het volk van de interuniversitaire onderzoeksgroep PARTIREP gecoördineerd door prof. Kris Deschouwer (VUB). Het doet enkele opmerkelijke vaststellingen over het stemgedrag van de Belgische kiezer. Zo blijken partijen als VB en LDD helemaal niet zoveel Vlaamsgezinde kiezers aan te trekken als ze zelf doen uitschijnen, en zou de afschaffing van de kiesplicht weinig veranderen aan het politieke landschap. En hoewel er zich bij elke verkiezing schijnbaar grote en plotse verschuivingen voordoen, zijn deze in werkelijkheid erg oppervlakkig en zeker niet het gevolg van een veranderde samenleving. Vier politicologen van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel, de Université Libre de Bruxelles, de KU Leuven en de Universiteit Antwerpen hebben de gewestverkiezingen van 2009 aangegrepen voor een grondige studie over het stemgedrag van de Vlaamse en Waalse kiezers. Ze ondervroegen een representatieve groep kiezers vlak voor én meteen na de verkiezingen. De resultaten van dit onderzoek verschijnen nu gebundeld in het boek De stemmen van het volk, en bieden een interessante kijk in de hoofden van de Belgische kiezers. Uit de conclusies kunnen heel wat lessen getrokken worden voor de verkiezingen van volgende week. Dit boek bespreekt verder ook de mogelijke gevolgen van de afschaffing van de opkomstplicht, de mate waarin mensen over politiek praten, de redenen waarom kiezers een voorkeurstem uitbrengen, de verwachtingen van kiezers ten opzichte van hun vertegenwoordigers en de rol die politiek dienstbetoon en verzuildheid vandaag nog spelen. Wie dus wil weten hoe een stem tot stand komt, vindt de antwoorden in dit boek.

El conjunto de trabajos que conforman este libro reflexionan acerca de la democracia y las elecciones, dos aspectos indisolublemente ligados en la realidad política actual. Los autores buscan provocar un debate en el marco de esa relación, a partir de una serie de temas que, sin ser todos los necesarios, son considerados fundamentales. Además, gran parte de las contribuciones piensan esos problemas en el contexto de la realidad política latinoamericana, algunos de cuyos autores se concentran en casos más particulares como Colombia, Chile, Brasil y México.

The 1893 Belgian parliamentary debate on compulsory voting is remarkable for the way it fuses electoral calculations and ideological arguments. The governing Catholics’ motivation to mobilize their voting clientele and protect them from forced abstention was invested with arguments about the importance of ‘accurate’ representation and true expression of the national will. Voting was re-described as a special type of right which engendered responsibilities towards non-voters, while Liberals were counter-arguing that the duty to vote was a matter of conscience and should encompass a right to abstain. This debate is key for understanding how political ideas have been used in real politics.

- by Anthoula Malkopoulou
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- Conceptual change, History of Political Thought, Conceptual History, Belgium

Under mandated choice policies, people are free to choose whichever option they prefer, but 'choosing not to choose' is penalized. In Australia, voting is mandatory, and abstaining is penalized with a fine. In New Zealand and several American states, it is mandatory for those who want to obtain a driver's license that they decide whether to register as organ donors. If they fail to do so, they will not receive a driver's license. Proponents of such policies stress that they may be the least autonomyinfringing ways of achieving some good and provide society with knowledge about people's preferences and are, partly for these reasons, preferable to employing defaults. This article compares mandated choice in voting and donor registration with respect to the ends served, how a mandated choice policy will serve these ends, the distribution of burdens and the nature of the possible options. It is argued that mandated choice is more attractive in the context of donor registration.

In this article I aim to show that compulsory voting cannot be defended on democratic grounds. In pursuing this task, I first offer a generic account of the democratic argument in favour of compulsory voting, drawing on some of the most salient recent defences of a moral duty to vote. I then offer an overarching objection which defeats both the generic form of the democratic argument for compulsory voting and its various operationalizations. The crux of the objection is that the democratic justification of a moral duty to vote is parasitical upon the existence of a moral duty to vote well. This decisively undermines the democratic argument for compulsory voting, since the latter can only be deployed as an enforcement mechanism for a duty to vote, regardless of the substantive content of that vote.

- by Alexandru Volacu
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- Democracy, Voting, Compulsory Voting, Ethics of Voting

En este trabajo se explora el efecto de las instituciones electorales en la composición de los electorados, particularmente el tipo de inscripción y el carácter de voluntariedad/obligatoriedad del voto. Explotando la reciente reforma electoral en Chile a través de un diseño cuasi-experimental, se comparan la composición de los electorados antes y después de la reforma, en base a los principales predictores sugeridos por la literatura especializada. Entre los hallazgos centrales se encuentran: un fuerte efecto de la edad en ambos contextos normativos, la importancia de la educación y de atención política tras la reforma, y la heterogeneidad de estos efectos entre las generaciones políticas. Adicionalmente, se cuantifica el efecto de la reforma electoral para distintos grupos, mostrando que ésta no afectó a todos por igual. Finalmente, se concluye ofreciendo una discusión de las implicancias democráticas de la reforma electoral y sus consecuencias en el sistema político.

Au cours de ce travail, nous allons examiner le vote obligatoire en prenant le point de vue communautarien pour critiquer les libertariens sur ce sujet. Commencer avec la définition du vote obligatoire sera efficace pour comprendre mieux le sujet. Le vote obligatoire est un effet des lois qui obligent les citoyens éligibles à s’inscrire et à voter aux élections et peut imposer des sanctions à ceux qui ne le font pas. En août 2013, 22 pays prévoient le vote obligatoire et 11 d’entre eux -environ 5% de tous les membres des Nations Unies- l'appliquent. Pour les théories de la démocratie, le droit de vote est le moyen que la Constitution et la loi mettent à la disposition du citoyen pour exprimer son opinion sur les problèmes politiques soumis à son jugement et sur les candidats auxquels il estime souhaitable de confier le pouvoir. Il est faux de réduire la démocratie à juste le droit de vote, mais il ne faut pas également nier que cet instrument soit l'un des piliers de la démocratie. Pourtant le vote obligatoire est intimement lié aux débats sur l’étendue et le but du vote ou sur ce que l’on appelle parfois la «la participation électorale» .

- by Serkan SIMSIR
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- Political Science, Democracy, Libertarianism, Voting

Does compulsory voting alter the rational calculus of voting? According to the rational choice theory of voting, turnout depends on the costs and benefits of voting, the probability of casting the decisive ballot, and individuals’ sense of duty. After showing that compulsory voting boosts turnout in Latin America and the Caribbean, this Insights report examines the extent to which turnout is associated with the cost and benefits of voting and individuals’ sense of duty in countries with voluntary versus compulsory voting laws. Contrary to expectations, the analysis reveals that the factors affecting voting are nearly identical in compulsory and non-compulsory systems. In both types of countries, the wealthy, the politically engaged, the highly educated, and those who are older are more likely to go to the polls, while retired people, housewives, students, and the unemployed are less likely to vote. Finally, the report discusses
the consequences of these findings for the debate about implementing compulsory voting laws in countries with voluntary voting, or freeing citizens from the obligation to vote in countries with compulsory voting.

- by Olivier Ihl
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- Electronic Voting, Voting Theory, Elections and Voting Behavior, E-voting

Over the past twenty years, the scientific community and politicians in consolidated democracies have been regularly alarmed by political and electoral participation, portrayed as undergoing a brutal and linear decline. Each election is now scrutinized in terms not only of its results but also of its level of electoral turnout. This paper deals with two important issues—the reality of changes in electoral turnout in Europe and the impact of the institutional constraint of compulsory voting in voter turnout levels—through an analysis of 402 elections held in thirty-five States from 1944 until December, the 31st 2009. We do ob- serve a contemporary erosion of voter turnout but at this stage voters are not so impossible to find as some claim they are. Furthermore, the assumption that interest in, and the importance of, compulsory voting as an institutional constraint encouraging voter turnout is confirmed.

- by Pascal Delwit
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- Political Sociology, European Studies, Comparative Politics, Voting Behavior
- by Grace M M Liu
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- Voting Behavior, Electronic Voting, Political Science, Politics
- by Pascal Delwit
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- Voting Behavior, Political Parties, Religion and Politics, Politics

One does not need to be a political expert to see that democracy around the world faces serious challenges. Of course, there is no magic solution, but over two decades ago political scientist Arend Lijphart argued that compulsory voting fosters voter turnout and, along with progressive parties, should, in theory, help to reduce socioeconomic inequalities. Indeed, compulsory voting has long been used in some of the most advanced democracies in the world, such as Australia and Belgium. However, it is most common in Latin America, which is among
the most unequal regions. Many Latin American countries, such as Brazil, experience the highest income inequality in the world.

Executive Summary. Does compulsory voting alter the rational calculus of voting? According to the rational choice theory of voting, turnout depends on the costs and benefits of voting, the probability of casting the decisive ballot, and individuals' sense of duty. After showing that compulsory voting boosts turnout in Latin America and the Caribbean, this Insights report examines the extent to which turnout is associated with the cost and benefits of voting and individuals' sense of duty in countries with voluntary versus compulsory voting laws. Contrary to expectations, the analysis reveals that the factors affecting voting are nearly identical in compulsory and non-compulsory systems. In both types of countries, the wealthy, the politically engaged, the highly educated, and those who are older are more likely to go to the polls, while retired people, housewives, students, and the unemployed are less likely to vote. Finally, the report discusses the consequences of these findings for the debate about implementing compulsory voting laws in countries with voluntary voting, or freeing citizens from the obligation to vote in countries with compulsory voting.

- by Régis Dandoy
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- Political Science, Belgian politics, Compulsory Voting

Invalid voting, meaning blank and spoiled ballots, is a regular phenomenon in democracies around the world. When its share is larger than the margin of victory or greater than the vote share of some of the large parties in the country, invalid voting becomes a problem for democratic legitimacy. This article investigates its determinants in 417 democratic parliamentary elections in 73 countries on five continents from 1970 to 2011. The analysis shows that enforced compulsory voting and ethnic fragmentation are strong predictors for invalid voting while corruption has less impact. Our findings suggest that the societal structure is crucial in understanding invalid voting as a problem for democratic legitimacy because greater social diversity seems to lead to either a greater rate of mistakes or lesser attachments of social groups to the democratic process. Thus, rising levels of invalid voting are not only concerning in themselves but also for the divisive factors driving them.

- by Annika Werner and +1
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- Comparative Politics, Voting Behavior, Ethnicity, Compulsory Voting

Este trabajo analiza las implicancias legales y políticas de la reforma del sistema de votación. La primera parte, jurídica, expone los cambios que se siguen de la transformación del voto obligatorio en voluntario y de la inscripción voluntaria en automática, observando algunos problemas que deberán ser abordados en el futuro. La segunda parte, política, presenta una tesis interpretativa de la reforma que sugiere que ella es un avance de la lógica liberal sobre la lógica democrática en nuestra Constitución y, sobre todo, del proyecto político neoliberal, cuyo objetivo es la completa despolitización de nuestra comunidad.

- by Pablo Marshall
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- Compulsory Voting, Voting Rights, Right to Vote

งานวิจัยนี้ทำการศึกษารูปแบบวิธีการลงคะแนนเสียงเลือกตั้งและวิธีการในการชดเชยให้ผู้มาใช้สิทธิลงคะแนนเลือกตั้งโดยรัฐของกลุ่มประเทศที่มีประชาธิปไตยระดับแนวหน้า เพื่อเปรียบเทียบข้อดี-ข้อเสีย ผลกระทบที่เกิดขึ้น ทั้งในแง่ปริมาณ เช่น จำนวนผู้ออกมาใช้สิทธิ และเชิงคุณภาพ เช่น ระดับการพัฒนาประชาธิปไตยของประเทศโดยภาพรวม และบริบทที่เหมาะสมสำหรับการนำรูปแบบวิธีการลงคะแนนเสียงเลือกตั้งและมาตรการ ในการชดเชยให้ผู้มาใช้สิทธิลงคะแนนเลือกตั้งโดยรัฐแต่ละแนวทางไปใช้ ตลอดจนการทบทวนบทเรียนเกี่ยวกับรูปแบบ วิธีการ และมาตรการที่ประเทศไทยเคยใช้ เพื่อพิจารณาทางเลือกที่เป็นไปได้สำหรับการพัฒนาปรับปรุงรูปแบบวิธีการลงคะแนนเสียงเลือกตั้ง รวมถึงวิธีการที่เหมาะสมในการชดเชยให้ผู้มาใช้สิทธิลงคะแนนเลือกตั้งของประเทศไทย

- by Stithorn Thananithichot
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- Electronic Voting, Elections, Voting, E-voting
- by Anthoula Malkopoulou
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- Language and Ideology, Compulsory Voting
- by Joy Allahyar
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- Democracy, Elections, Compulsory Voting

In this paper we address claims made by those supporting the abolition of compulsory voting about the relationship between turnout levels and compulsory voting. Via a critique of the methodology used, we query estimations of the effectiveness of compulsory voting laws and dispute common assertions about how high Australian turnout would be under a voluntary system. We then show that projected comparisons with places like Malta, New Zealand and The Netherlands are questionable. We also challenge other projections, that are based on data that has been insufficiently disaggregated. We conclude that when compulsory voting is properly administered in a congenial setting (such as Australia), it is the best means for guaranteeing high and socio-demographically equal rates of voting participation. Without it, Australian democracy would be experiencing the same citizenship crises currently being experienced in most other industrialised, voluntary voting settings.

Is criminal disenfranchisement compatible with a democratic political order? This article considers this question in light of a recently developed view that criminal disenfranchisement is justified because it expresses our commitment to democratic values. We call this view expressive disenfranchisement and refer to the general conception in which it is grounded as democratic expressivism . Contra supporters of expressive
disenfranchisement, we argue that democratic expressivism does not offer a sound justification of criminal disenfranchisement. Additionally, we argue that, insofar as one really cares about answering serious criminal wrongs via an expression of democratic values, criminal disenfranchisement should be abandoned and replaced with a policy that temporarily obliges
the relevant criminals to vote. Democratic expressivists should, in other words, move from supporting the disenfranchisement of serious offenders to endorsing a policy of compulsory criminal voting for a finite period of time.

- by Andrei Poama
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- Democratic Theory, Voting, Compulsory Voting, Disenfranchisement

The paper denies that art. 15 of the chilean Constitution establishes a right not to vote. What is instead protected by this article is the citizen’s electoral decision-making process. Under this perspective are considered several statements from chilean electoral system. Since a constitutional right not to vote is not included in it, any new legal statement that establishes compulsory voting
would involve no transgression to art. 15 of the Constitution.

- by Diego Pardo-Alvarez
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- Electoral Systems, Compulsory Voting

En esta tesis se explora la participación electoral en Chile en el período post-autoritario, poniendo énfasis en la composición del electorado y los efectos de la reforma electoral de 2011, que reemplazó el sistema de inscripción voluntaria y votación obligatoria por uno de inscripción automática y votación voluntaria. Un primer capítulo se dedica a describir el contexto histórico y las particularidades propias de la relación de los chilenos con el voto, con especial dedicación a las elecciones municipales. Luego, un segundo capítulo discute las principales teorías que explican la asistencia de los ciudadanos a las urnas, as como intenta deducir cómo estas ideas podrían aplicarse para el caso chileno. Un tercer capítulo aborda la importancia de las instituciones electorales en los niveles de participación y la composición de los electorados, centrando la discusión en las diferencias que se dan en regímenes de voto voluntario y compulsivo. De la literatura revisada en el segundo y tercer capítulo se extraen hipótesis empíricas a contrastar en el caso de estudio. Luego, una nueva sección describe la metodología utilizada para analizar el caso de estudio. Se propone una aproximación cuasi-experimental que compare los patrones de participación en la ultima elección municipal con voto obligatorio (2008) y la primera con voto voluntario (2012) mediante el uso de encuestas post-electorales. En el capítulo siguiente se exponen los resultados de los análisis estadísticos. A partir de estos resultados se ofrecen una serie de conclusiones sustantivas relativas a los niveles de participación y representación electoral, a saber: (1) la importancia de las generaciones políticas, (2) el rol del status socio-económico, y (3) la selectividad actitudinal del electorado. Finalmente, se discuten las implicancias normativas de estos resultados para el sistema democrático y la sociedad chilena.

- by Bernardo Mackenna
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- Political Sociology, Public Opinion, Voting Behavior, Political Science