# FILE NAME: 00000990.soc
# TITLE: Is it right to have compulsory voting? [37144adf024e75672758ec47aeeea56b]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 4
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 4
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - In general, the group was opposed to compulsory voting. It was felt that people should be free to express their political views by voting or not voting. However, it was also felt that the political parties should make an effort to ensure that their policies were made clear to the public so that people would be more likely to vote. It was also felt that the political parties should be more representative of the views of the public.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - We don't believe that it is right to have compulsory voting. Whilst we believe that voting is important and that the more people that vote the more democratic a country is, we also believe that in a free society people should have the right to opt out of the democratic process if they so wish. We also believe that forcing people to vote would mean that those forced to the ballot box would not take it seriously. People should only vote once they have informed themselves of the policies of the candidates and the political parties.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - In general, the group was opposed to compulsory voting. It was felt that voting should be a choice and that people should not be forced to take part in the democratic process. Some people felt that it was not fair to force people to vote for a party that they did not support and that this would lead to a large number of 'spoilt ballots'. Some people also felt that it would be impractical to make voting compulsory and that it would be very difficult to enforce. It was also felt that there were more important issues that needed to be addressed before making voting compulsory.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - In general, the group was opposed to the idea of compulsory voting. The group felt that people should have the right to abstain from voting if they want to. Sometime casting no vote can be a way of expressing your political beliefs. Sometimes political parties are so underwhelming that they don't deserve a vote. It was also felt that forcing people to vote would mean that those forced to the ballot box would not take it seriously. People should only vote once they have informed themselves of the policies of the candidates and the political parties. The group felt that those who currently do not vote probably take very little notice of politics and so forcing them to vote will often lead to votes that are uninformed. If you were to make voting compulsory then ideally you would have to make each person have at least a basic understanding of the policies of each party they could vote for. This is highly impractical and I would argue even impossible. Even the practicalities of making sure each person votes would be difficult and would likely take up a large amount of resources.
2: 1,2,4,3
1: 1,2,3,4
1: 4,2,1,3
1: 2,3,4,1