Does Compulsory Voting Improve Representation?

• In Event: Electoral Laws and the (In)equality of Democratic Representation

Abstract

How does compulsory voting shape representation? Advocates argue that compulsory voting improves representation by reducing turnout inequality. Whereas low-turnout elections tend to underrepresent the interests of disadvantaged groups, high-turnout elections ensure that every voice is heard.

Skeptics argue that compulsory voting drags uninformed voters the polls, and that low-information voters often vote against their own interests, thereby reducing the quality of representation.

In this paper, I examine the normative value of high turnout and analyze the representative impacts of compulsory voting. I study compulsory voting’s effects on both voter behavior and party strategy with a combination of formal theoretic modeling and empirical analysis.

I address how compulsory voting influences voter information-gathering, as well as how parties change their policy platforms and electoral appeals, with a focus on economic redistribution and race and immigration. I show that compulsory voting encourages parties to take less extreme positions by shifting the strategic focus away from mobilization of core supporters.

Author

• Eli Gavin Rau, Tecnológico de Monterrey