Question 31242 — elections and referendums

Summary

Mrs. Cécile Muschotti draws the attention of the Minister of the Interior to the subject of compulsory voting. In France, the right to vote is a right and is not, legally, an obligation. On the other hand, the right to vote is morally a duty for citizens, as the inscription on electoral cards reminds us: “Voting is a right, it is also a civic duty”. History, particularly the history of women's rights, encourages particularly each one to assert it. We are actually talking about compulsory voting in countries where failure to participate in voting operations on an election day is punishable by sanctions. This exists in 22 countries around the world, in different forms. Despite the issuance of 53 legislative proposals on the subject since the beginning of the Third Republic, compulsory voting has never been established. However, the vote is compulsory for major voters (around 144,400 people), during the election of senators. Indeed, article L 318 of the electoral code provides for “the sentencing of a fine of 100 euros by the high court of the capital to any member of the electoral college who, without legitimate cause, does not take part in the vote”. Transforming a right into a duty might seem paradoxical. However, can we truly consider that this is a constraint to make a choice for one's future and that of one's territory? The democratic crisis deserves reflection, and the question of sanction is decisive. Only collective reflection can make it possible to find solutions that make sense for democracy. When nearly 60% of voters do not express themselves, parliamentarians must react and seek solutions. She wishes to know the opinion of Government on this subject.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

No documents linked.

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.