evidence: Compulsory voting is hardest to enact in the places where it would make most difference "IF VOTING made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it," quipped Mark Twain, an American writer. Some governments, however, think voting makes such a difference that they oblige voters to do it. Voting is compulsory in 26 countries around the world, from Argentina to Belgium. To those elsewhere worried about declining voter turnout, compulsory voting may seem tempting. But it is not a shortcut to a healthy democracy.