Is voting compulsory in the United States?

Voluntary

Georgia's 1777 mandatory voting provision was removed from the 1789 constitution.

The United States is one of 153 countries classified “Voluntary” for compulsory voting — 87% of the 176 with data. (Also searched as mandatory voting.)

Source

Taken from
Wikipedia: Compulsory voting
Last checked
7 July 2026
How it was classified
Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.

Nearby countries

Bahamas
Voluntary Voting is voluntary.
Mexico
Compulsory (not enforced) Voting is constitutionally obligated but no penalties are enforced under current Electoral Code.
Canada
Voluntary Voting is voluntary.
Cuba
Voluntary Voting is voluntary.
Belize
Voluntary Voting is voluntary.
Guatemala
Voluntary Guatemala repealed compulsory voting in 1990.

Other laws in United States

Voting Age
18
Minimum Working Age
Under 14

Every law in the United States → · Which countries have compulsory voting? →

A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.