REGARDING the letter suggesting that voting should be mandatory (January). Mrs Prior's proposal for citizens who fail to vote at elections is interesting. If she wants to exercise her franchise, fine, but why make me do it if I don't want to? I have not

REGARDING the letter suggesting that voting should be mandatory (January).Mrs Prior's proposal for citizens who fail to vote at elections is interesting. If she wants to exercise her franchise, fine, but why make me do it if I don't want to? I have not voted in an election for over 20 years and have no plans to do so in the future. It is not that I am too lazy to go and vote, although the services and policies delivered by the major parties are so similar there does not seem much point.Our MP and councillors in East Devon serve the people well, but the political system overall is corrupt. Voting gives legitimacy to this corruption and I shall continue to withhold my vote until the system is cleaned up.Would Mrs Prior agree with mandatory voting, but with a box on the ballot paper for people like me to register an abstention? I would be happy with that.Finally, she should not get carried away with the Australian system. Two of my antipodean relatives, who did not want to vote in their last general election, made a quick telephone call to the election officer and said they would be elsewhere on the day. The official response: "No worries, mate!". Jim Coleborn,18 St Briac Way, Exmouth