Is compulsory voting a remedy? Evidence from the 2001 Polish parliamentary elections

Abstract

Voter turnout has been decreasing in modern democracies. This decline can be perceived as a challenge to democracy. Among the solutions proposed is compulsory voting, which according to many scholars is effective, but seems controversial at the same time. This paper considers the possible effects of the introduction of compulsory voting in Poland. Empirical analyses show that the introduction of compulsory voting would be an effective tool for boosting voter turnout in Poland. If Polish citizens had been forced to vote in the 2001 parliamentary elections, then the vast majority of non-voters would have participated in the elections. Voter turnout would have increased substantially as a consequence. Various social groups would react differently to the introduction of compulsory voting: gender, education, place of residence, occupational status, and ideological self-placement have a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable. However, policy preferences and party preferences do not have a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable. Thus, the most surprising finding of the paper is that the introduction of compulsory voting would not have substantive impact on the election results.