I think that when you have non-compulsory voting it turns democracy into a bizzare popularity contest… not so much who is most liked but who can convince the most people to turn up at voting booths…
Are you by any chance heading to a election night party hosted by Rob??
The 1st proposition: Yes and no. Whilst the "get out the vote" factor is always a tough one in non-compulsory voting, compare places like Italy where they have very high non-compulsoty voting turnouts. Most people argue it's more about what's on offer (the variety) that gets out the vote. Compare the 2 party system of the US where the 2 parties are more or less the same.
On the other hand, who's to say even if there was compulsory voting here the result would've been any different? If popularity rather than merit (and that's still only a guess btw - Anna Hall might be a raving Trot for all I know and I've been cast as the piss-weak reformist!) is the dominant appeal, hey, I might've still lost.
Secondly, enforcing compulsory voting at Uni would be next to impossible, in my view.
As to the 2nd, er, suggestion: Hopefully, so I might see you there. He better have a huge screen TV set up to a damn good stereo. I wanna hear that electroal tide come in on HI-FIDELITY.
