Abstract:
Voting is regarded as one of the most important requirements of a democratic system in the present era. Yet there are two contradictory ideas over the concept of voting in an election. The first concept emphasizes that voting is the right of the individual, who privately decides whether to vote or not to vote, The second concept holds that it is the duty of every eligible citizen to vote and thus, a law clearly stipulating the duty of each citizen to vote, is provided. The election law, which binds each citizen to vote or which provides sanctions usually accompanied by penalties, is called compulsory voting.From the study, it was revealed that there are many countries implementing compulsory voting. The sanctions currently enforced for an omission or failure to vote fall into three categories: (1) fine, (2) loss of rights and (3) inducement of public embarrassment.In the case of Thailand, voting was once regarded as a citizen's right. However, in the past 19 general elections, voter turnout was small. The present constitution embarking on political reform, provided for compulsory voting. Everyeligible citizen has the duty to vote and the failure to vote without a valid and sufficient reason results in the loss of S political rights.However, the sanctions provided for the punishment of individuals who fail to vote may be insufficient and negligible. Therefore, the sanctions should be expanded to include the loss of rights pertaining to political actions and certain other rights, concerning politics. Moreover, a sanction inducting public embarrassment should be included. Adding more sanctions may benefit voter turnout under the compulsory venting system and may enable sanctions to operate efficaciously.In addition to the provision of more sanctions, incentives should be included to encourage eligible voters to cast their votes. From the experience gleaned by nations utilizing compulsory voting, there is an increase in the number of spoiled and blank ballots. Compulsory voting may not be able to control the voting behavior of citizens. The proposed, workable voting incentive for Thailand is that of elect:ion lottery.