Well, then my original point stands, since the policy clearly diminishes the strength of the signal sent by voting as opposed to not voting.
And let me be clear: I do also object on general libertarian grounds to the government making me vote, i.e. I don’t in fact believe voting is anywhere near important enough to justify such a policy. So I’m very happy not to be a citizen of one of those countries.
the policy clearly diminishes the strength of the signal sent by voting as opposed to not voting.
Disagree. If the cost of voting is negligible (because you’re going to be in the voting booth anyway) and you still vote blank or F.Y., that is a much stronger signal.
Someone who stays at home most often still has a favoured candidate, but he may be lazy, or the polls may have been so skewed that he figured it wasn’t worth showing up. But someone who shows up and votes blank can only have done it because, for some reason, he had no preference in the election—and someone who writes F.Y. on the ballot can only have done it because he wants to express his spite at the whole system.
Right, well I think voting should be the costly signal, and not voting the default. I don’t think abstention should be a signal of spite or contempt for the system; rather the opposite (signaling a sufficient level of contentment that one is indifferent to the outcome).
If you really want to express contempt, you can voluntarily show up and vote “F.Y”.
Well, then my original point stands, since the policy clearly diminishes the strength of the signal sent by voting as opposed to not voting.
And let me be clear: I do also object on general libertarian grounds to the government making me vote, i.e. I don’t in fact believe voting is anywhere near important enough to justify such a policy. So I’m very happy not to be a citizen of one of those countries.
Disagree. If the cost of voting is negligible (because you’re going to be in the voting booth anyway) and you still vote blank or F.Y., that is a much stronger signal.
Someone who stays at home most often still has a favoured candidate, but he may be lazy, or the polls may have been so skewed that he figured it wasn’t worth showing up. But someone who shows up and votes blank can only have done it because, for some reason, he had no preference in the election—and someone who writes F.Y. on the ballot can only have done it because he wants to express his spite at the whole system.
Right, well I think voting should be the costly signal, and not voting the default. I don’t think abstention should be a signal of spite or contempt for the system; rather the opposite (signaling a sufficient level of contentment that one is indifferent to the outcome).
If you really want to express contempt, you can voluntarily show up and vote “F.Y”.