As a newcomer to the U.S., arriving in the months leading up to a Presidential election, I am struck by the apparent polarization of the American media into red and blue extremes. The most recent conspicuous example was the respective coverage by Fox News and MSNBC of the leaked Mitt Romney tapes (or, one might say, lack of coverage with regard to the former). As one U.S. political correspondent for Australia noted recently, “It is almost as though there are two elections going on in the U.S., each entirely independent of the other. Each side has its own set of facts, and each side is becoming increasingly baffled and frustrated that its opponent will not accept it.”

A notable contrast between U.S. and Australian federal elections is that in Australia, voting in elections is compulsory, and has been since 1924, when a bill to that effect was passed without dissent by both Houses of Parliament. In the first federal election following the establishment of compulsory voting (which is enforced by a system of fines), voting turnout rose to 91.4%, up from 59.38% in the previous, non-compulsory, election.