Does Compulsory Voting Lead to More Informed and Engaged Citizens? An Experimental Test

Does compulsory voting lead to more knowledgeable and engaged citizens? We report the results from a recent experiment measuring such second-order effects in a compulsory voting environment. We conducted the experiment during the 2007 Quebec provincial election among 121 students at a Montreal CEGEP. To receive payment. all the students were required to complete two surveys; half were also required to vote. By comparing knowledge and engagement measures between the two groups, we can measure the second-order effects of Compulsory voting. We find little or no such effects.