Sept/Oct 2013 Neg: Decrease Quality of System foundationbriefs.com Page 64 of 104 Under a democracy, the responsibility of voting is different from the requirement to vote, DAT Moraro, Piero. Why Compulsory Voting Undermines Democracy Living Ethics, 88. St. James Ethics Centre. Winter 2012. The main argument in defence of compulsory voting is the importance of raising citizens participation in elections. Australia’s turnout rate has never fallen below 90% since 1924, in striking comparison with most Western countries that struggle to reach 60%. These are nevertheless, merely quantitative considerations the fact that more people go to vote is not abetter thing for democracy. In fact, it could be argued that compulsory voting is likely
to do more damage than good, by reducing the quality of the electoral outcome. Forcing everyone to vote means that the voice of those with no interest in politics will influence the decision about who rules the country. This generates what author Jason Brennan calls pollution of the polls in his book
The Ethics of Voting and is one of the main causes of the actual crisis of democracy worldwide incompetent politicians winning elections through media control (the recent case of Italy under Silvio Berlusconi epitomises this phenomenon.
By the same token, compulsory voting cannot be defended by arguing that a government’s legitimacy of a majority formed by a low turnout is questionable, for numbers alone do not add credibility in this regard. Favouring democracy to other forms of government cannot be because of the mere fact that democracy allows everyone’s voice in the public arena. This might be, if anything,
a reason against democracy. Dragging people to the polls will do nothing to improve the quality of our democratic lives, insofar as people do not take Share with your friends: 
