Voting is a Duty

We don't just have a right to vote, we have a responsibility to vote.

Submitted 6/05/2006 By Publius Views 3361 Comments 2 Updated 7/05/2006

The state is the collective actor that we empower to act in our name. Whilst we allow the state to act in our name on our behalf, it is our duty to hold the state to account.

Basically what I mean is:
  1. there is a government that we as the citizens of Australia allow to exist;
  2. we allow it to exist in order to act on our behalf. ie. the role of the government is to do those things on a large scale for everyone in society that we cannot or should not do individually, eg. provide for law and order, common defence;
  3. The government is capable of great abuses of the power that we as citizens give it;
  4. Because we have given power to the government, we are partly responsible for what the government does with this power.

The claim that we citizens are giving the government power may seem odd, but look at it this way. Every day that we do not resist the state (the government, law, etc) and that we act peacefully within the system it establishes, we are consenting to and supporting what it does.

We have the power to hold the state to account, and the most basic form of this power is the power to vote.

We have given the state our consent, our support and our taxes. Come election time (or any time when we have the ability to actnow) we have the responsibility to ensure to the best of our ability that the power we have given the state is not misused.

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Josie 04-Sep-2006

I think we need more meaningful ways of engaging in decision making. Many people who don't vote (and many that do) are sceptical about the impact of their vote. Voting for representatives is not enough. This is an interesting site about how citizens can participate other than through representative democracy: http://www.activedemocracy.net. I think that as voters we also have a responsibility to hold our representatives accountable. Be aware of what the party/person you're voting for stands for and whether they follow through on their promises. If not, vote for someone else. Also, be active by making politicians aware of your concerns.

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Pippa 15-May-2006

I totally agree and get frustrated with my mates who don't vote. But the reality is that many people feel as though their opinions are always ignored - why should voting be any different? In addition, there are many Australians who have grown up in other countries where elections were synonymous with fear, violence, corruption and disappointment, or they weren't held at all! How can we promote a culture where democracy means free participation in all aspects of governance?

The question for me is, how do we link the ways we CAN have a direct impact with elections - which are equally as important - ? I mean, how do we encourage young people to believe that their vote does count - but that their political responsibilities don't end or begin at the ballot box? &amp;lt;br><br>

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