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Hokitika Guardian, 21 May 1926, Page 2

The Commonwealth having experimented for the first time with compulsory voting at the general election in November last year, has had convincing experience of the effect of the law in inducing electors to go to the poll. In the elect-on for the Senate the results show that the electors enrolled numbered 3,202,0156, and the number that voted was 3,014,953. so that the percentage that voted was 93.3 for the different States, ranging between 88.7 for Tasmania and 92.98 for Victoria. The figures of the election held in 1922, when the voting was optional, were as follows:—Enrolled, 2,982,425; voted, 1,728,248; percentage, 57.90. The highest percentage of voting previously recorded was in 1917, and was 77.7. Whereas in 1922 the female Voting percentage was 13 per cent, below the males, in 1925 it was only 1 per cent, below the males, and in Queensland was over 1 per cent, above 'the males. The official view is that compulsory enrolment is necessary as an adjunct to compulsory voting, and ensures approximately complete, up-to-date, and accurate rolls. Statistics show that after allowing for people (1) enrolled but not qualified to vote, (2) incapacitated through sickness or infirmity, (3) hay-

ing a valid excuse, for example, death, sickness in the family, and approaching maternity, the percentage of electors enrolled who did not vote and were without a vaTicT probably does not exceed 1 per cent, of the enrolments. This is regarded as a striking example of the desire of the Australian electors to obey the law. Possibly the very great interest in the issues of the election assisted the large vote, but it is unlikely that the voting would have exceeded 80 per cent, without compulsion. The anticipation that compulsory voting would lead to a larger proportion of spoilt votes was a ground for some electors to resent compulsion, blit this was not realised in practice. The percentage of spoilt votes was reduced from between'9 to 10 per cent, in 1922 to between 6 and 7 per cent, in 1925. Voting in foulelectorates exceeded 95 per cent, namely, in Barton, New South Vales, and in Balaclava, Ballarat and AVannon, in' Victoria. As both parties claim that compulsion has helped them it is extremely unlikely that the system will l>e changed.