Jonah, I think Americans beat themselves up way too much over “low” voter turnout. For a start, the nature of American democracy is profoundly different: If you live in Hampshire, England, you can vote for just three offices – a local councillor, a Member of Parliament, a Euro-MP – every five years. If you live in New Hampshire, New England, you can vote for hundreds of folks – President, Governor, Senator, Congressman, State Representative all the way up to County Commissioner, Sherriff, Register of Probate, Town Clerk, School District Treasurer, Cemetery Commissioner, Library Trustee, Sexton, etc. If you factor in the multiple officers, America has the highest rate of civic participation in the developed world.

The U.S. system is designed to reward informed participation. That’s why in America you get to choose not only which party you support but which candidate: There’s no caucuses or primaries in most other democracies. And in Continental Europe you’re mostly voting under PR systems for “party lists”, and which particular representative you wind up with is decided by the bosses back at party HQ. I don’t see why a higher turnout rate in national elections to check a box for someone whose identity will be revealed later should be the only measure of civic virtue.

Secondly, a smaller vote tally is surely also a reflection of a smaller government. If the state controls your health care and your job, as it does in much of Europe, it’s hardly surprising that more folks turn out to vote, any more than it’s surprising that (to use a Goldbergian analogy) Homer Simpson drags his family along to Mr Burns’ company picnics.

Third, and to contradict myself, I’m not sure about your reader’s Australian reference. The Aussies have had compulsory voting since (I think) the Twenties, and I wonder if that doesn’t at least partially explain why they have some of the sanest politicians on the scene. Contrary to the received wisdom that high turnout would benefit the left, Australia’s experience suggests it requires successful parties to be wary of disdaining a center that is (in the broadest sense) culturally conservative. If 100% of Americans had to vote, for example, there would be no talk of illegal-immigrant amnesty. (That said, I oppose compulsory voting on principle.)