The lively, fascinating history of compulsory voting in Australia is now in a second edition, featuring new content about the Teal independents and an index

The lively, fascinating history of compulsory voting in Australia is now in a second edition, featuring new content about the Teal independents and an index. 'This is the story of a young democracy that is unique. A thrilling and valuable book.' Annabel Crabb It's compulsory to vote in Australia. We are one of a handful of countries in the world that enforce this rule at election time, and the only English-speaking country that makes its citizens vote. Not only that, we embrace it. We celebrate compulsory voting with barbeques and cake stalls at polling stations, and election parties that spill over into Sunday morning. But how did this come to be: when and why was voting in Australia made compulsory? How has this affected our politics? And how else is the way we vote different from other democracies? Lively and inspiring, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage is a landmark account of the character of Australian democracy by the celebrated historian Judith Brett, the prize-winning biographer of Alfred Deakin. 'A tremendous piece of work.' ABC Radio National: Minefield 'Unravels mysteries, and explains the quirks and triumphs of Australia. It answers questions you didn't even know you had. I learned something on every page.' Waleed Aly 'Brett's writing is capable of extraordinary clarity, insight and compassion.' Monthly 'This absorbing book explains a century-old institution, how it came to be, and how it survives.' Antony Green

Details

ISBN13: 9781923670099
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 224
Edition:
Publication Date: 08 Sep 2026
Publisher: Text Publishing
Publication City, Country: Melbourne, Australia
Dimensions (cm): 23.3(H)x15.3(L)x2.1(W)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Judith Brett is a political historian and biographer and emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University. Among her books are Robert Menzies' Forgotten People: Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, which won the 2018 National Biography Award, and From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award.

Reviews

‘This is the story of a young democracy that is unique. A thrilling and valuable book.’ * Annabel Crabb *
‘This book unravels mysteries, and explains the quirks and triumphs of Australia. It answers questions you didn’t even know you had. I learned something on every page.’ * Waleed Aly *
'This absorbing book explains a century-old institution, how it came to be, and how it survives.' * Antony Green *
‘Brett’s writing is capable of extraordinary clarity, insight and compassion.’ * Monthly *
‘Magnificent…an excellent, fast-moving narrative establishing how Australia became one of the world’s pre-eminent democracies.’ * Weekend Australian *
‘As Brett’s splendid book reminds us, the fundamentals of our electoral system should make us all proud.’ * Sydney Morning Herald *
‘A tremendous piece of work.’ * ABC Radio National: Minefield *
‘[A] brief but seriously compelling history of how we do democracy… riveting.’ * Courier Mail *
‘[Brett's] fascinating story of how we vote also discloses larger truths about what we are like as a people.’ * Australian Book Review *