this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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We get a fine of $50. The purpose is not to punish those who don't vote but to make the act of voting more palatable.
In Australia, we still get donkey votes and non voters but they're in the minority, and definitely not in the millions.
So in AU you must vote or it’s a $50 fine?
Technically it's just that you must show up to a polling location and get your name ticked off, if you really can't handle voting nobody will know if you drop in blank slips.
If you don't show up and haven't done a postal vote you get a letter later on asking whether you had a valid reason to not vote, if you don't have one then pay the fine.
Yep. Or at least that's how much it was 10 years ago when someone I knew didn't vote and purposefully stayed home. Could be a bit more than that now. I think the money goes to the electoral commission and is redistributed as election funds to parties on the next election. Happy to be corrected on that point, though.
We also have preferential voting, which means there's more than 100 people to vote for. You can pick your top 12 or number every single one in order of preference. This means that your vote counts for something in the end, so there's no feeling of having your vote wasted if "your side" isn't elected.