Tangent 21 - Get the voters out?

Posted by
Wobag

Posted on
22:40
May 02 2002

Get the voters out?

Well Im guessing by now we will be hearing just how low the turnout for the elections was and just how appathetic we all are, Ive had an idea for a while that would REALLY get the folks out voting.

See theres something that a politician gets when he votes on a law that we dont get when we vote for a politician... the right to abstain.

Noone can tell you how many of the nonvoting public (50% of us?) actually DONT CARE who gets in, or whether they are simply unwilling to lend support to any of the candidates. Im guessing a lot of the latter, and they would happily turn out and say 'i care about politics and my country, but I dont agree with what you lot are offering'. I think that would at least half 'non voter' syndrome.

Thing is it will NEVER happen.

See, if 50% of us vote, and 60% of those vote for party X, party X can say 'we got in on 60% of the voting public, 60% of the people who give a monkeys'.

But if the OTHER 50% turn out, and vote 'abstain', then party x still win, but they only get to say 'we have 30% of the voting public'.

Minority parties would also be against it, as half of their support is from 'protest voters', who would now have a legitimate place to protest without voting monster raving loony, or other scarier options.

So, when you next hear politicians whining on about how we have to get the public out and voting, what they really mean, is 'we only want these people to turn out if they vote for us', as I reckon the answer is there, its obvious, and its free!

What do you think? And do you have any other suggestions?

6 Replies and 1126 Views in Total.

MonSTeR No big eyes! No magic powers! No giant robots!

I believe in Australia it's ILLEGAL not to vote if you're eligible to!!! Even if you spoil your ballot paper, you still have to turn up to vote.

The threat of a fine or a prison term might get folks into the polls.

I think it'd be one way to get rid of voter apathy.

Posted: 22:51 May 02 2002

Whistler "I wonder wonder why the wonder falls. I wonder why the wonder falls on me. I wonder wonder why the wonder falls, with everything I touch and hear and see."

by MonSTeR
I believe in Australia it's ILLEGAL not to vote if you're eligible to!!! Even if you spoil your ballot paper, you still have to turn up to vote.

The threat of a fine or a prison term might get folks into the polls.

I think it'd be one way to get rid of voter apathy.

And to that I cite one thing:-

European Convention Of Human Rights

Posted: 23:10 May 02 2002

Jayjay "I may be scattered / A little shattered / What does it matter / No one has a fit like I do / I'm the only one that fits you"

Hmmm, a legal requirement to vote? Sounds way too authoritarian for my tastes.

As for an 'Abstain' option, many forms of PR include a RON (ReOpen Nominations) entry on all ballets, thus not only allowing you to say 'I don't want any of you' but also forcing a revote and encouraging new candidates to step forward. Thus ensuring that a successful candidate must have a genuine mandate.

The real problem is that both of the major parties have too much of a vested interest in continuing the status quo. The only ones who oppose this are the true conviction politicians. And the only way we'll change things is if we are prepared to take action ourselves, instead of waiting for someone else to come along and do it for us...

Posted: 23:12 May 02 2002

DJ Billy You can't really dust for vomit.

by MonSTeR
I believe in Australia it's ILLEGAL not to vote if you're eligible to!!! Even if you spoil your ballot paper, you still have to turn up to vote.

Yes, and I think they also run a system whereby you have to vote for your top three, although I can't remember exactly how it works.

A friend of ours has been part of a pilot scheme for voting over the internet. It will be interesting to see what sort of turnout there was in that ward.

Posted: 11:00 May 03 2002

Cat "Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." ~Anon

Some people just cant get to a station. One year i had a hell of a time finding a station open late enough for me to vote and had to get a lift across town.

I dont think there is a way around voter apathy. Remember the fines and prison terms for the recent census, well that worked well, Not!

To get people voting again the parties have to be in touch with real people and their lives. Until the politicians began to relate to us again, most people wont give a... Um... you know what i mean.

At the moment our vote counts for nothing, the parties still do what they like, regardless of public opinion.

Posted: 11:22 May 03 2002

Incandenza It's not a zero-sum game.

by Wobag
party X can say 'we got in on 60% of the voting public, 60% of the people who give a monkeys'.

People who live in Hartlepool you mean?

Strictly speaking you can abstain by spoiling your paper.

I think low turn out is a symptom of many things ... the death of ideological politics, the dumbing down of media (especially tabloid newspapers), a general increase in living standards, indistinguishable parties and a feeling that influencing policy and decisions is in the hands of the unelected so why bother?

The biggest selling paper in the country is The Sun. That should tell you something about how much the electorate cares about politics relative to whether Britney is a virgo or not.

Posted: 16:54 May 03 2002

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