Voting is mandatory. Penalties for skipping.

Australia has just gone through another election. A national one, this time. The entire thing was electronic,and the results were announced the same night of the voting ! Less than a few hours after voting closed.

Thats amazing(actually, not) in itself. But the real surprise  here is that it is mandatory for every citizen to vote. Its not just a privilege, or a right, its the rule.

So, what happens if a citizen does not turn up to cast their vote ? They have to pay a penalty.  The Australian government site says:

You will receive a letter from the AEC if, according to our records, you did not vote at a recent federal election or by-election. If you did vote, you should advise the AEC and provide details by the due date. If you didn’t vote, you will need to provide a valid and sufficient reason why, or pay the $20 penalty.

This has to be tagged under 'things that won't work in India'. This time some states had upto 80% turnout to vote in the national elections, it is never a hundred percentage. Here is an idea which the babus can..well,think about and throw later into the garbage.