LafariWhy is Australia the only "core anglosphere" country where voting is mandatory?
Because it’s a terrible idea? Elections are already heavily weighted towards name recognition. What are people who can’t even be bothered to go out to vote going to offer to the process?
ParadoxvoidIt forces politics to the centre. Parties put a huge amount of effort into ‘bringing out the vote’, and do things to appeal to the fringe which is how you get characters like Trump finding success. When this isn’t a concern, parties can focus on policies that appeal to the majority of people rather than fringe groups that they can use to guarantee voter turnout.