Society & Relationships ·Tuesday, May 19, 2026

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pollinion.com

Should voting be mandatory in a democracy?

45%consensus11responses

Only if we first make it genuinely easy and accessible for everyone

All answers

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Only if we first make it genuinely easy and accessible for everyone45%
Yes — democracy only works when everyone participates, not just the motivated27%
No — forcing uninformed or disengaged people to vote weakens democracy18%
Voting is already pointless — mandatory or not changes nothing9%
Never — the freedom to abstain is as fundamental as the freedom to vote0%

Country

% chose top answer

🇭🇷Croatia40%🇺🇸United States100%🇮🇹Italy100%🇬🇧United Kingdom100%

Croatia is most divided — 40% “Yes — democracy only works when everyone participates, not just the motivated” vs 20% “Voting is already pointless — mandatory or not changes nothing”.

Age

35–44
40%
40%
20%
25–34
100%
60+
50%
50%

35–44 is most divided — 40% “Only if we first make it genuinely easy and accessible for everyone” vs 40% “Yes — democracy only works when everyone participates, not just the motivated”.

Gender

Man
60%
20%
20%
Woman
75%
25%

Man leans differently — 60% chose “Yes — democracy only works when everyone participates, not just the motivated”.

Man is most divided — 60% “Yes — democracy only works when everyone participates, not just the motivated” vs 20% “Voting is already pointless — mandatory or not changes nothing”.

Compulsory voting, also called universal civic duty voting or mandatory voting, is the requirement that registered voters participate in an election. As of January 2026, 21 countries have compulsory voting laws.[1] Law enforcement in those countries varies considerably, and the penalty for not casting a ballot without a proper justification ranges from severe to non-existent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting

World map