Editing Compulsory voting (section)

==Measures to encourage voting==
Although voting in a country may be compulsory, penalties for failing to vote are not always strictly enforced. In Australia and Brazil,{{citation needed|date=May 2015}} providing a legitimate reason for not voting, such as illness, is accepted. In Australia, if a citizen is asked why they did not vote and they reply that it is against their religion, the Electoral Act provides that this answer must be taken as conclusive, and no further action is to be taken.<ref>{{cite web|date=September 2014|title=Electoral Backgrounder: Compulsory Voting|url=https://www.aec.gov.au/about_aec/Publications/Backgrounders/compulsory-voting.htm|access-date=2 November 2020|website=[[Australian Electoral Commission]]}}</ref>  In Argentina, those who were ill on voting day are excused by requesting a doctor to prove their condition. Those over {{convert|500|km|abbr=on}} away from their voting place are also excused by asking for a certificate at a police station near where they are.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201503/97676-elecciones-2015-toda-la-informacion.html |archivedate=2023-11-19|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20231119080311/https://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201503/97676-elecciones-2015-toda-la-informacion.html | title=Elecciones 2015: toda la información | publisher=[[Télam]] | date=11 March 2015 | access-date=23 May 2015 | language=es}}</ref> Belgian voters can vote in an embassy if they are abroad or can empower another voter to cast the vote in their name. The voter must give a "permission to vote" and carry a copy of the ID card and their own on the actual elections.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le vote par procuration {{!}} IBZ Elections|url=https://elections.fgov.be/electeurs-que-faire-en-cas-dindisponibilite-le-jour-du-vote/le-vote-par-procuration|access-date=2021-08-19|website=elections.fgov.be}}</ref> 

States that sanction nonvoters with fines generally impose small or nominal penalties. This can be seen as reflecting the practical rationale for compulsory voting – that compulsion is aimed at making it more irksome not to vote than to vote, and therefore mild penalties are all that is required. Penalties for failing to vote are not limited to fines and legal sanctions. Belgian voters who repeatedly fail to vote in elections may be subject to [[disenfranchisement]]. Singaporean voters who fail to vote in a general election or presidential election will be subjected to disenfranchisement until a valid reason is given or a fine is paid.<ref name="thenews.com.pk"/><ref>[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/apathy/story/0,,1521096,00.html "Compulsory voting around the world"], ''The Guardian'', 4 July 2005</ref>

Goods and services provided by public offices may be denied to those failing to vote in [[Peru]] and [[Greece]]. In Brazil, people who fail to vote in an election are barred from obtaining a passport and subject to other restrictions until settling their situation before an electoral court or after they have voted in the two most recent elections. If a Bolivian voter fails to participate in an election, the person may be denied withdrawal of the salary from the bank for three months.<ref name="thenews.com.pk">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-20732-Of-31-countries-with-compulsory-voting-a-dozen-actually-enforce-it|title=Of 31 countries with compulsory voting, a dozen actually enforce it|website=www.thenews.com.pk|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/apathy/story/0,,1521096,00.html "Compulsory voting around the world"], ''The Guardian'', 4 July 2005</ref> A [[postal vote]] may be available for those for whom it is difficult to attend a polling station.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/Ways_to_vote/overseas.htm | title=How to vote while overseas}}</ref> Pre-poll voting at nominated polling stations in Australia has been increasing in recent years.<ref>[https://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/research/files/apsa-2014-early-voting-in-australian-federal-elections-causes-and-consequences.pdf Early Voting in Australian Federal Elections: Causes and Consequences], Australian Political Studies Association 2014 Conference – Sydney.</ref>