Editing Compulsory voting (section)

==Arguments against==

=== Regressive taxation ===
Concerns about fines landing harder on the poorest citizens can lead to reforms to ensure penalties are mild for the poorest citizens and that voting is accessible and seamless for all to help assure concerned voters that mandatory voting will not become a [[regressive tax]].<ref name=":62"/> The impact of these fines can be mitigated by making sure they do not compound over time, are [[Day-fine|weighted based on income]], and by providing an option to perform [[community service]] in lieu of payment.<ref name=":62"/>

=== Compelled speech ===
Another concern expressed about compulsory voting is that it would compel speech, which violates [[freedom of speech]] which includes the freedom ''not'' to speak.<ref>Note, ''The Case for Compulsory Voting in the United States'', 121 Harv. L. Rev. 591, 601–603 (2007). Harvard is one of several law schools at which students may submit articles for publication in the school's [[law review]] but only anonymously in the form of "Notes" (with a capital "N").</ref> Former Australian opposition leader [[Mark Latham]] urged Australians to lodge blank votes for the 2010 election. He stated the government should not force citizens to vote or threaten them with a fine.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 August 2010 |title=Latham at Large |url=http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/7944020/latham-at-large  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306032335/http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/7944020/latham-at-large |archive-date=6 March 2012 |access-date=2011-10-04 |publisher=[[Nine Network|Channel Nine]]}}</ref> At the [[2013 Australian federal election|2013 federal election]], considering the threat of a non-voting fine of up to A$20,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Eldridge |first1=Stacey |last2=2022 – 12:05&nbsp;pm |date=2022-05-20 |title=Revealed: The fine for failing to vote in the election |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/federal-election/australians-warned-of-20-fine-for-failing-to-vote-in-this-years-federal-election/news-story/ec396d78daa36d7039a347e13eed7ed1 |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=skynews |language=en}}</ref> there was a turnout of 92%,<ref>{{cite web |title=Turnout by State |url=http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseTurnoutByState-17496.htm  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018062613/http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseTurnoutByState-17496.htm |archive-date=18 October 2015 |access-date=28 March 2018 |publisher=[[Australian Electoral Commission]]}}</ref> of whom 6% lodged either informal or blank ballot papers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Informal Votes by State |url=http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseInformalByState-17496.htm  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914010104/http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseInformalByState-17496.htm |archive-date=14 September 2016 |access-date=28 March 2018 |publisher=[[Australian Electoral Commission]]}}</ref> Systems in democratic countries, which have a secret ballot, allow for blank ballots, but voting systems could also add a 'none of the above' option to each race so as to provide multiple clear ways for voters to refrain from speaking/voting if, for some reason, a voter does not want to submit a partially or fully blank ballot.<ref name=":62"/>

=== Religious objections ===
Religious objection is one that many [[Christadelphians]] and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], for example, cite as for why they should not participate in political events. As a result, many countries allow religious beliefs as a valid excuse for not going to the polls.<ref name=":62"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Maintain Political Neutrality? |url=https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/political-neutrality/}}</ref>

=== Civil liberties ===
[[American libertarians]] in particular debate to what extent voting is a civic duty and not just a civic right. Even in the case of the US where most Americans see voting as a civic duty, most Americans in a 2020 poll did not like the idea of imposing a US$20 fine on those who did not cite an excuse for not voting including a conscientious objection.<ref name=":62"/>

=== Vote buying ===
One perceived downside to compulsory voting is that by coercing politically apathetic people to vote in elections, they are vulnerable to manipulation through vote buying.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brusco |first1=Valeria |last2=Nazareno |first2=Marcelo |last3=Stokes |first3=Susan C. |date=2004 |title=Vote Buying in Argentina |journal=Latin American Research Review |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=66–88 |doi=10.1353/lar.2004.0022 |jstor=1555401 |s2cid=154003297 |issn=0023-8791}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-22 |title=Could compulsory voting save democracies in crisis? |url=https://qz.com/1920978/does-compulsory-voting-hurt-or-benefit-democracy |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref>