Comment by linuxandrew | Hacker News Reader

Comment by linuxandrew | Hacker News Reader

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Ha! We have compulsory voting but unlike many Anglo countries we don't require voter ID, vote registration etc. In fact you do not need to provide any ID to vote, because voting fraud is so statistically low (see https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/factlab-meta/voting-fraud-negli...). We simply provide a name and address and fill out the ballot.

We have so many issues, but compulsory voting is not one of them, in my opinion. If you feel so strongly to not vote you can abstain by an informal vote like roughly 5% of the country does on any given election (https://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/Informal_Voting/) or simply pay the AU$20 (roughly US$13) fine like apparently around 5-10% of Australians do on any given election (https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/non-voters.htm).

In my view, and in the view of many Australians, people encouraging further "freedom" to not vote are attempting to suppress votes, a major issue in the United States and other countries with optional voting.

In Australia they ask to see your ID but you can say you don’t have it on you. I think they mostly just ask for ID so it’s easier to look up your name with the correct spelling.

Counter anecdote, I’ve never been asked for id when voting in South Australia or NSW in my 20 year voting history

Me neither, in Qld.

They don't. Source: Australian citizen that has voted many times.

...in the same election? Seriously, if they don't ask for any id, how do they prevent fraud?

You get your name + address marked off the roll when you go to vote. If you get your name marked off multiple times it would indicate fraud.

So, I can save my neighbors a hassle and a $20 fine by appearing at the polls for them?

Maybe but that would be voter fraud and quite a serious offence, like going to prison for ten years, which is why not many people do that.

Given that there are no identity checks and I'm doing people a favor, how would I be caught?

You wouldn't be doing anyone a favour by committing electoral fraud.

But that aside, although Australia doesn't require any ID on election day, Australians do register with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) with their name, address and date of birth. AEC workers have a printed copy of these records on election day. Obvious anomalies like someone with a different age can be reported. Otherwise anomalies like multiple votes from the same address are investigated, I imagine by interviewing the person at that address.

The AEC provides transparency about how it detects fraud and the penalties that can be imposed for people who are caught doing it. The point is that this is quite rare. The AEC's aim is to lower barriers to voting in the first place so that all people can. By detecting anomalies and using tipoffs the AEC estimates the impact of voter fraud and takes a scientific approach to recommend against raising barriers to vote.

The state I live in has an average of about 4 elections a year. Sometimes as many as 8.

Being required to vote in all of them would be a large burden.

Stopping people suppressing votes should not be solved by taking away freedoms.

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