I agree! There are many good reasons for making voting a duty as well as a right. Often people think there is no need to vote as the polls indicate a win for their preference, so why bother. Then the result ends up going the other way. One might hope that both sides would do the same and the effect cancel itself out, but that is not necessarily the case. It depends on many factors, which by their nature should not be influencing the outcome; like age, social class, education, etc. It makes the whole business a lottery as a oppose to an exercise in democracy.
If you want local services you have to pay tax. If you want democracy you should have to vote.