Giving Voters Reason to Vote

The government is considering giving citizens tangible incentives to vote in next year's presidential election, possibly by giving them lottery tickets or gift certificates for cultural activities.

The idea appears to be a desperate attempt to raise voter turnout. In the 1999 presidential election 80.7 percent of eligible voters voted, but only 70.8 percent voted in 2002. 48.9 percent voted in the regional elections in 2002, much lower than the 68.5 percent who voted in regional elections in 1995.

Ahn Young-bae, the vice minister of Government Information Agency said that the Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook spoke to the ministerial conference that in order to raise the turnout of voters, every ministry should exert utmost effort and provide fundamental plans to increase the turnout in the next election.

"Foreign countries give penalties to those who don’t show up at elections, but we should think about offering incentives, considering national emotions," said Han.

Brazil, Singapore, Chile and Australia levy fines on citizens who fail to vote, while in several nations, including Argentina and the Philippines, they restrict people's right to become public officials. In Belgium, people who miss four elections are erased from the voter’s list or exempted from promotion in the public service.

Choe Ingnim, [e-mail]