Ian Stewart's article on the mathematics of voting seems to take pleasure in the fact that no voting system is perfect, while failing to acknowledge that the relative merits of voting systems should be investigated and qualitatively assessed (1 May, p 28).
To my mind, the voting system here in Australia has several advantages, not least of which is that preference voting means every vote counts. You can vote for a minor party, assured that if it turns into a race between the two major parties then your order of preference, and your vote, counts.
In addition, enforcing mandatory voting means that the result is truly representational of the total electorate. Political parties must attempt to appeal to everyone - as everyone will vote. This encourages politicians to consider the effects of policies over the whole socioeconomic spectrum. With this system everyone votes, and every vote counts.
Mandatory voting ...
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