On the relationship between age and intentional invalid voting in compulsory elections

Abstract

Intentional invalid voting–the deliberate act of incorrectly marking one's ballot–poses a significant problem in compulsory voting systems. Indeed, some suggest that these “wasted” ballots raise concerns with regards to electoral legitimacy and the utility of compulsory voting in maximizing voter turnout. Previous research argues that younger voters disproportionately engage in intentional informal voting when compared to older members of the electorate. Using original cross-sectional data from a large sample of voters in the Australian state of Victoria (N = 25,246), we first show that there is only a small relationship between age and intentional informal voting. Building on existing theorizing, we then demonstrate that the relationship between age and informal voting is fully mediated by political disaffection, as measured by voters’ interest in politics, their satisfaction with democracy, and their satisfaction with candidate choices. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and policy implications of these results.