Post by Kasman on Nov 21, 2006 14:52:53 GMT -5
inuvik said:
chocky said:
Voting is compulsory here as well - is it in Canada?No, although the idea occassionally gets tossed around as a way to improve the percentage of the population who vote.
What is the penalty for not voting in Australia?
From a document on the AEC website:
26. Where the elector writes to the DRO providing a
reason for not voting, and the DRO is not satisfied
that the reason provided is valid and sufficient, then
the DRO must write again to the elector advising that
the DRO is not so satisfied, and that if the elector
does not wish to have the matter dealt with by a court,
the elector may, within a specified time period, pay to
the DRO a penalty of $20. If the elector then pays to
the DRO the $20 penalty for failing to vote, the matter
ends there.
27. An elector may be prosecuted pursuant to section
245(15) for failing to vote at an election without a valid
and sufficient reason, or for making a statement in
response to a penalty notice, or to the further notice
by the DRO, that is, to his or her knowledge, false or
misleading in a material particular. The court may
impose a maximum penalty of $50.
PLUS court costs...
So, in other words, it's a nominal fine, but it still exists and that encourages most of us to go and do our civic duty...coz who wants to pay for the privilege of NOT doing it.
