Why don't other nations use the Australian voting system?

"We're one of the few countries around the world that does have compulsory voting," he said. "We really take it for granted now, it's part of our political culture, but it's looked at a bit strangely in other parts of the world." Australia's system does have at least one high profile fan. read more

Other countries have used it in local elections, and even some communities in the United States (such as Cambridge, MA) use it today. Many student organizations in Europe also use this system for election to university student associations, because it yields an even more proportional result than party list systems, and certainly more proportional than plurality or majority voting. read more

Other alternatives are postal voting and early voting, known as "pre-poll voting", which are also available to voters who would not be in their registered electoral districts on an election day. A form of postal voting was introduced in Western Australia in 1877, followed by an improved method in South Australia in 1890. read more