121 3 Democracy and citizenship Should voting be a choice or a duty? The famous English writer, Percy Bysse Shelley, once wrote that “A man has not only a right to express his thought, but it is also his duty to do so” (Declaration of Rights – no. 13, Shelley, 1812). We know that for a democracy to work, people need to vote. Still, many people choose to stay home on election day. So, should voting be obligatory for all citizens aged 18 and over? One good argument for making voting obligatory is that it will force people to participate in their democracy. If no one bothers to participate, we cannot say that the government represents the people. Australia made voting a legal duty a century ago. According to the BBC article “Australia election: Why is voting compulsory?”, there is a much higher voter turnout in Australia than in countries like the UK and the USA where voting is a choice. On the other hand, do we want people to vote if they have no idea who and what to vote for? Making voting a duty will not necessarily make people get involved in politics. If we force people to vote, many people who are not interested MODEL TEXT to express – tjá election day – kosningadagur to participate – taka þátt to bother – nenna a legal duty – lagaleg skylda compulsory – skylda turnout – kjörsókn
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