Dear Compulsory Voting Department of the Electoral Office,
I write to you today regarding the fine I’ve recently received for failing to vote in the last council elections.
I am not unaware that there are fellow Australians who deliberately flout the law of compulsory voting. My sister’s friend once knew a man called Bosko who was incredibly intelligent and finely attuned to the subtleties of politics but who had never ever enrolled to vote because he believed there was no real difference between the two main parties in the Australian political arena. This is not a view that I share. I’ve heard that some people are against the principle of compulsory voting because they feel it is the very antithesis of democracy. Again, this is not something with which I agree.
When involved in debates about the issue of compulsory voting in Australia, either here or while travelling overseas, I am a vocal proponent and phrases such as 'civic duty', 'an opportunity to be informed and engaged' and 'a privilege that many are denied' have been known to cross to my lips.
So, in light of all this, you may have cause to wonder out loud, 'Then why did this tremendously committed and passionate citizen refrain from voting in his seat during the 2008 Victorian local council elections?'
Well, dear employee of the Compulsory Voting Department of the Electoral Office, despite all appearances, I did not refrain from casting my vote, nor did I forget to cast my vote. Nay, the crime for which I am guilty is less a violation of civic responsibility and more a consequence of trusting too naively, too blindly, in the binds of familial love and honour.
Let me explain. I filled out the voting form before the postal vote deadline. I gave it to my sister to post before the postal vote deadline. My sister did not post my vote before the postal vote deadline. She did not post my vote at all. Not only, might I add, did she forget to post my vote, she also forgot to vote herself and forgot to tell our friend Bridgette that she needed to vote and so now we are all being fined.
I apologise for my part (as blameless as it clearly is) in this unfortunate situation and assure you with great sincerity that this will never happen again. If you are reading this letter now, please accept it as evidence that I have learnt my lesson and will never again trust my lazy cow of a sister to put a letter in the post on my behalf.
Yours in solidarity,
Tim
