Sept/Oct 2013 Aff: Prevents Free-Riding foundationbriefs.com Page 42 of 104 Prevents Free-Riding Democracy is a Public Good—CV Prevents Freeriding JRM Lever, Annabelle. 2009. Is Compulsory Voting Justified Public Reason 1 (1): 57-74. The final,
and crucial, step in the case for compulsion is the claim that nonvoters are free-riding on voters. They are,
it is claimed, selfishly benefiting from the public good of a democratic electoral system without doing their part to maintain it. This claim can be found in every argument for compulsory voting, although
it is rarely spelled out in any detail. The key idea here is
that a democratic electoral system is a public good, in that all citizens get to benefit from it, even if they do nothing to contribute to it. Because it is a public good, it is possible to free-ride, or to enjoy the benefits of that good, without contributing oneself and, indeed, most Share with your friends: 
