Lisa Hill (political scientist)

Lisa Hill
Professor Lisa Hill, University of Adelaide
Nationality	Australian
Institution	University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Field	Political science Political philosophy
Alma mater	University of Tasmania; University College, Oxford University
Contributions	Compulsory voting
Awards	Rhodes Scholarship (1985-88)

Lisa Hill is Professor of Politics at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2011. She has previously held positions at the University of Sydney and the Australian National University. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2011.

Hill’s research interests include electoral law, Australian politics, history of political thought, social, political and economic thought of the Scottish Enlightenment, the pre-history of liberalism, and classical Stoicism. She is particularly known for her work in support of compulsory voting

Hill is an advocate for compulsory voting, pointing out that in Australia (where voting is compulsory) turnout has remained steady at about 95 per cent, whilst in voluntary voting systems around the world turnout has been on the decline. She has estimated that were Australia to introduce voluntary voting, turnout would decline to 60 per cent. She holds that the decline in turnout is most pronounced among younger, poorer and more marginalised voters, a factor that explains why there is more wealth inequality within voluntary systems: politicians have less incentive to cater to the needs of more marginalised voters, who are less likely to vote in voluntary systems.

Her expertise in the area has also been recognised by the Australian and British Electoral Commissions, as well as in the popular media, with her ideas being explored in such publications as Slate and the International Business Times.

She recently co-authored Compulsory Voting: For and Against (Cambridge University Press) with political philosopher Jason Brennan, who took the opposing side of the debate. The book has been called "the best and most thorough recent contribution to the literature on this subject" by Professor Ilya Somin of George Mason University School of Law.