An LNAT practice essay that was written in response to the prompt: "Should compulsory voting be introduced in the UK? Why or why not?" The writer of this essay received offers to study law from the University College of London, King's College, Durham University, the University of Exeter, and was in...
Should compulsory voting be introduced in
the UK? Why or why not?
There are two primary arguments one might cite in supporting the proposition:
compulsory voting should not be introduced in the UK. The first is political:
forcing citizens to vote could constitute a violation of the UK’s democracy, with
powerless people coerced into making decisions against their will. The second
is societal: forcing an uninterested or ignorant person to vote could skew
election results and result in inaccurate polls. In this essay, I will counter these
reasons and explain why voting should be made compulsory in the UK.
I will begin with the first counter claim: compulsory voting could constitute an
infringement on the UK’s democracy. Under democratic principle, it is believed
that citizens should be allowed to choose their leaders, free from coercion.
According to this logic, forced voting could be deemed a violation of one’s
personal liberty. If a citizen does not support any of his/her candidates, it does
not seem just that they are compelled to vote simply for the sake of ritual or
pretence. On the contrary, their lack of participation should be classified as a
separate “choice”: an indication of their dissatisfaction with their options.
Introducing compulsory voting could thus prevent unhappy citizens from
expressing their personal viewpoints, reducing their liberty and autonomy.
However, this reasoning neglects to acknowledge the power of the vote itself.
Democracies can only function if citizens are able to express and communicate
their beliefs. Through elections, populations are encouraged to display their
support—or lack of support—for government authorities and exert influence
over the management of their country. This cannot occur if people do not cast
votes. In the UK, voting rates have declined significantly over the past years. If
this phenomenon were to continue, voting demographics could be greatly
skewed. In large quantities of votes, extremist opinions are often diluted by
the politically moderate masses. However, in small quantities where each vote
is dedicated greater weight, one extremist ballot could significantly alter
election results. In such scenarios, anomaly voters could bring problematic
officials to power purely due to low turnouts. For this reason, it is essential
that voting is made compulsory: not as an infringement of the UK’s democracy,
but as a source of democratic protection.
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