Two things often overlooked in discussions about compulsory voting:

1) It makes it very hard to intimidate people out of voting

2) It makes voter suppression tactics we see Republicans use in the US, like restricting early voting, and having few polling booths, ineffective.
Reposted from Taniel
People were REQUIRED to vote in today's election, lest they get a fine by the state.

I talked to an Australian scholar yesterday who explained the genesis of this 'compulsory voting' system. She also explained it creates an 'egalitarian pressure' on how parties campaign.

Check it out:

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