Full Participation

About a quarter of all democracies today legally oblige their citizens to vote, making this an important aspect of electoral systems in many settings. Moreover, numerous commentators and policy-makers in voluntary voting states are coming to view mandatory attendance at the polls as an attractive option in the context of declining turnout. Yet there has been a dearth of analysis of the way in which compulsory voting shapes attitudes, behaviour and outcomes of the political process. This volume fills that gap by providing a comprehensive description, analysis and evaluation of compulsory voting as it is practiced throughout the world. Specifically, the study systematically examines the history of the institution, the normative arguments for and against it, and the influence it has on a range of political phenomena. These include electoral campaigns, political attitudes, electoral integrity and legitimacy, policy outcomes and turnout. The book also considers the feasibility of introducing compulsory voting in a contemporary democracy, as well as variations on the institution designed to broaden its appeal.

ISBN 0719077621   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780719077623 (What's this?)   Pages 200 Publisher Manchester University Press   Volumes 001 Imprint Manchester University Press   Weight (grammes) 454 Format Hardback   Published in Manchester Publication date 01 Feb 2009   Height (mm) 234 Library of Congress JF1001   Width (mm) 156 DEWEY 324.6   Academic level Tertiary education, Professional / Scholarly

		List of Tables
1		Introduction		1
2		A history of compulsory voting and an overview of contemporary experience		20
3		Normative arguments for and against compulsory voting		40
4		Compulsory voting and election campaigns		59
5		Compulsory voting and electoral turnout		79
6		Compulsory voting, electoral integrity and democratic legitimacy		99
7		Compulsory voting and political outcomes		118
8		Conclusion		136
Appendix		sources of data and variable construction		155
		References		163
		Index		179

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