Comment by Narkov
> The participation rate has always been low in rich western countries.
Australia has entered the chat.
> The participation rate has always been low in rich western countries.
Australia has entered the chat.
See my sibling comment. Getting your name checked off is compulsory but nothing stops you from handing in a blank ballot.
"I don't like any of the rat-bastards." "I don't care." "I think it's funnier to draw a dick. (And I don't care.)" "I trust other people to make the right choice." "I refuse to participate in this bourgeois sham election." ...are all reasons I've heard, even if I don't actually understand any of them.
For reference, informal votes were around 5% in our last federal election:
https://results.aec.gov.au/27966/website/HouseInformalByStat...
This article contains a fun breakdown of the types of informal votes including a category for "the usual anatomical drawings" (0.7% of informal votes):
https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/04/22/2025-federal-election-p...