Voting and an Individual’s Right

Today I feel deeply satisfied as I just discharged my civic duty of exercising my right to vote. Hope my vote paves the path for a stable government which can manage the affairs of the state. Many events have some accompanying debates that resurface whenever the event occurs. One such recurrent debate associated with election is, whether voting should be made compulsory? In the opening line I point to this debate by describing voting as both a right and a duty. The gist of this post is to debate whether voting is a right or a duty.

Duty is a term that conveys a sense of moral/legal commitment to something or somebody [1]. While right is an entitlement or a permission which is of legal or moral nature [2]. Duty and right are two different things. One essential and decisive difference between the two is that the former has an element of compulsion while the latter is determined by free will.

Article 326 to the Constitution of India provides that election to the house of people and legislative assemblies shall be held on the basis of adult suffrage. Originally 21 years was considered as the age of majority for suffrage which was subsequently reduced to 18 in 1988. It is interesting to note that the Constitution doesn’t describe voting as a duty or a right.

So where from does this whole debate originate ? It may be said that a few ‘democratic’ minded citizens of this country are the authors of this debate. Rendering voting compulsory implicitly means that those who fail to comply with the law may be subjected to punitive measures such as fines, community service, imprisonment etc. A Wikipedia page discusses this issue thoroughly. [3]

In my view this could amount to gross violation of an individual’s free will. As a citizen one is given the freedom to choose his/her ruler. When in a public election if none of the contestants convince a particular voter, what is the recourse available to the voter? The voter cannot choose ‘no-one’ in the ballot sheet. The advent of electronic voting machines have rendered the opportunity of invalidating one’s vote impossible. So the voter will be under a duress to vote if at all voting is made compulsory.

Even when the above said operational difficulties are addressed, making voting a duty rather than leaving it a right may not be a wise idea. In a democracy the underlying assumption is that a citizen, in his ‘infinite’ wisdom, is always right. So if a voter doesn’t show up for a poll it cannot be held as a lapse leave alone guilt.

Compulsory voting would result in voters thronging polling station out of fear for punishment. This can defeat the whole idea of a free and fair elections. So I think there is little compelling logic behind the argument for compulsory voting.

It would be beneficial for the nation to allow free will to be the determinant behind each and every vote polled. An element of compulsion could render voting a superficial legal ritual in the long run.

Dear proponents of compulsory voting, please don't kill democracy in the name of democracy.

References :

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting