Compulsory suffrage (also known as compulsory voting) is an electoral mechanism that considers suffrage as a right and a civic obligation, establishing the duty to go to the polling stations to exercise that right and obligation. It differs from voluntary suffrage, which considers suffrage only as a right. Some electoral systems establish mixed regimes, in which suffrage is mandatory for the majority of citizens, but allows it to be voluntary for some groups of citizens (minors, the elderly, travelers, etc.). Compulsory suffrage regimes usually establish fines or community service for those who do not show up to vote, if they cannot justify their absence.
Compulsory suffrage regimes seek to prevent abstention, as well as maneuvers intended to promote electoral fraud, such as difficulties in accessing polling stations or threats to certain groups to abstain from voting.
Latin America is the region with the most countries with compulsory voting
Voluntary voting applies in 200 countries worldwide, and compulsory voting applies only in 24 (though nine do not). Latin America has the largest number of nations with compulsory voting: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay, while Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, and Paraguay do not.
The three countries with the highest turnout in elections are Australia (91.89%); Uruguay (90.12%); and Belgium (90.01%), all with compulsory voting. Those with the lowest turnout are Haiti (20.16%), Bulgaria (33.65%), and Portugal (39.49%), all with optional voting. The three countries with the highest turnout are Sweden (87.18%); Hungary (85.43%); and Denmark (84.54%). The countries with non-compulsory voting with the highest turnout are Türkiye (86.24%); Costa Rica (65.71%) and Mexico (63.42%).
In Latin America, voter turnout in countries where voting is compulsory is markedly higher than in countries where it is optional. In Europe, the country with the highest voter turnout is Belgium (90.01%), which has implemented compulsory voting.
In Europe, many of the countries with optional voting (Sweden, 87.18%; Hungary, 85.43%; Denmark, 84.54%; the Netherlands, 79.34%; Norway, 77.20%; Germany, 76.58%) have higher turnout rates than Latin American countries with compulsory voting (Peru, 74.56%; Panama, 73.01%). And Hungary and Denmark, the two countries with optional voting with the highest turnout, surpass Latin American countries with compulsory voting, such as Ecuador (82.62%). Argentina (81.31%) and Brazil (78.70%).
The country with the highest turnout rate in Latin America that uses optional voting (Nicaragua, 65.23%) is surpassed by 14 European countries that use the same voting method (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, England, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Sweden).
The ten highest-ranked countries in The Economist's ranking of democratic quality have the following voter turnout rates (in order):
1) Norway, 77.20%; 2) Iceland, 66.90%;
3) Sweden, 78.18%;
4) New Zealand, 82.24%;
5) Finland, 66.80%;
6) Ireland, 43.90%;
7) Denmark, 84.54%;
8) Canada, 62.89%;
9) Australia, 91.89%;
10) Switzerland, 45.12%. Only one of these states has compulsory voting (Australia).
Five of the ten countries exceed 75% voter turnout, three are within the 60% to 70% range, and two are between 40% and 50%.
In some countries, active suffrage that is, the democratic election of political representatives is considered not only a right but also a civic duty. Electoral absenteeism is a legitimate practice in most of the world, but there is a minority of countries where this option is not contemplated.
In some countries, active suffrage that is, the democratic election of political representatives is considered not only a right but also a civic duty. An obligation enshrined in their constitutions and electoral laws, and which in many cases even entails the imposition of sanctions.
The first state to implement it in its current legislation was Belgium, which has been using it since the late 19th century. Other states, such as Argentina (1914) and Australia (1924), were inspired by it, and thus more and more states began to apply this electoral model. Currently, the countries that provide for compulsory suffrage in their national legislation are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, North Korea, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Honduras, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nauru, Paraguay, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, and Uruguay. However, compulsory suffrage is not enshrined in law in Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, the DRC, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Thailand.
Two things are worth highlighting from the list. First, the large number of Latin American countries that have adopted or provide for compulsory suffrage. Second, the fact that countries appear on this list does not mean that all of them are truly democratic. The Economist Democracy Index classifies Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Korea, and Libya as "authoritarian regimes," and Turkey, Bolivia, and Thailand as "hybrid regimes."
In addition to these 27 countries, France is sometimes also included as a country with compulsory suffrage. However, it is important to note that this only occurs for the election of members of the Senate, an election carried out by indirect suffrage by councilors, deputies, and regional and municipal delegates, who do have a political responsibility to their constituents and the obligation to vote to constitute the Senate as part of the exercise of their functions. Aside from senatorial elections, voting is not compulsory at the national level for the civilian population.
An exceptional case would be the totalitarian regime of North Korea, which, despite not being a democratic country, holds elections in which the entire population over the age of 17 is required to vote, although there is only one candidate for each district. Not voting or casting a blank ballot would be considered treason and would bring serious problems to anyone who dared to do so. Thus, this law is not used so much to select candidates but rather as a means of monitoring which citizens are or are not in the country and to identify dissidents.
Finally, there are certain countries that once imposed compulsory voting and later withdrew it, such as Cyprus, the Netherlands, and Chile. On the other hand, there are other states where this model is not applied nationally, and therefore are not included in the list, but they do use it in specific regions of the country. This is the case in Switzerland in the canton of Schaffhausen, or what happened in Austria in the states of Tyrol (until 2004), Vorarlberg, and Styria (until 1992).