Key Findings on Compulsory Voting and Its Effects

Introduction to Compulsory Voting

• Compulsory voting is believed to increase voter turnout and create a more representative electorate.
• The debate exists regarding whether it also stimulates political learning.
• Mixed conclusions arise from various studies analyzing political knowledge through cross-national and intranational data.

Background on Voting and Participation

• Low voter turnout negatively impacts representative democracies (Burnham, 1987).
• Schattschneider (1960): Low turnout is described as the "sickness of democracy."
• Verba (1996): Concerns about inequality in political participation.
• Institutional remedies like compulsory voting have been proposed to counter low participation.

Feedback Theory and Voting

• Feedback theory suggests policies create effects that reinforce participation (Pierson, 1993).
• Mettler and SoRelle (2018): Policies shape participation and may create cognitive effects.
• Compulsory voting has been shown to increase turnout by 10-15 percentage points (Loewen, Milner, and Hicks, 2008).
• The impact of compulsory voting on political learning remains debated, with mixed evidence on voter knowledge.

Research Objectives and Hypotheses

• This study aims to examine:
  • The effects of compulsory voting on voter turnout.
  • Emotional responses, specifically anger, and their impact on political learning.
• Hypothesis 1: Compulsory voting will increase voter turnout.
• Hypothesis 2: Compulsory voting will prompt higher levels of anger among voters.
• Hypothesis 3: Political learning will occur, but its extent will differ based on emotional reactions (specifically anger).

Methodology Overview

• An experimental study context was created, with two studies focusing on different election cycles: primary and general elections.
• Participants were given extra credit for their participation and were informed of a penalty for non-participation in voting.
• Experiments aimed to observe actual voting behaviors and emotional responses.

Findings on Voter Turnout

• Studies indicated that compulsory voting led to a statistically significant increase in participation compared to control groups.
• The compulsory voting condition saw a 12% turnout increase in the primary election and 15% in the general election.

Emotional Responses to Compulsory Voting

• Participants under the compulsory voting condition reported significantly higher levels of anger.
• Mean anger levels indicated that those susceptible to compulsory voting felt particularly offended by the penalty.

Political Learning Outcomes

• Political learning effects were mixed:
  • In the primary election, compulsory voting did not significantly influence political knowledge.
  • However, in the general election, those compelled to vote showed notable increases in political knowledge.
• Emotional responses did not moderate the relationship between compulsory voting and political learning, contradicting initial hypotheses.

Implications and Conclusions

• The findings suggest that while compulsory voting effectively increases turnout, it also elicits anger, which does not necessarily translate to enhanced political learning.
• The study underscores the complexity of voter behavior under compulsory voting systems and highlights the need for further exploration of emotional dynamics in the context of electoral participation.
• The results provide foundational evidence for future research on policy feedback theory in the domain of voting and political engagement.