When one says “mandatory voting”, I assume the only thing that can mean is that there's some kind of penalty for not voting. I can't think of what other meaning it could have.
Okay, I think that answers that.
There's been some discussion about electronic voting. We know that polls indicate that Canadians generally are in favour of the idea. On the other hand, the experts who have spoken before us warn us that we ought to be careful about security issues. It does strike me that if it were introduced as a supplement and were made available to people who are not able to exercise their franchise simply by going down to the polling station, then there might be a reasonable entry point for this means of voting.
Would it prove to be a meaningful supplement for people with disabilities? If so, which kinds of disabilities would it make the biggest difference for? I think mobility issues would be one, but what else would there be?