Will you vote on May 6th?

[MK Shrimper]

Whatever the colour, whatever the policies, whatever the leader, will you be doing your democratic duty on May 6th? I work as a poll clerk and the turn out in recent (non Parliamentary) elections has been around the 30% mark which is fairly shameful in my eyes.

Anonymous poll, but if you have a reason, air it here, and obviously those under 18 on May 6th is pretty self explanatory!

 

[canveyshrimper]

Yes.

I think that the turn out will be much higher this time. I think the TV debates have actually increased interest in the election. Whether that translates into people getting their arses into polling stations remains to be seen.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

I note Groyney's view on the other thread - that his Grandpa fought in the war so that people had the choice not to vote - but it's not a view I share. Throughout my childhood and continuing into my adulthood, the brave and dignified struggles of Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi have left an enormous impression on me. The imprisonment and indignities that those two people endured was, fundamentally, so that they could achieve for their people the simple right to vote.

It is a right that we should never take for granted. Make sure you safeguard that right by exercising it on May 6th.

Matt

 

[Its Only A Game]

I won't be voting this year just like I haven't at the last couple of elections.

I have a complete distrust of most politicians so don't really see why I should give any of them my backing when i don't beleive most of what they say.

I know people will argue that is my duty to vote but it isn't. I have a "right" to vote which means I can if I want to but it isn't compulsory.

If there was a particularly strong local issue for which an MP was campaigning on and I supported I would probably vote but there isn't.

I don't really see the difference between not voting and spoiling your ballot paper.

 

[osymandus]

I won't be voting this year just like I haven't at the last couple of elections.

I have a complete distrust of most politicians so don't really see why I should give any of them my backing when i don't beleive most of what they say.

I know people will argue that is my duty to vote but it isn't. I have a "right" to vote which means I can if I want to but it isn't compulsory.

If there was a particularly strong local issue for which an MP was campaigning on and I supported I would probably vote but there isn't.

I don't really see the difference between not voting and spoiling your ballot paper.

Your displeasure and disgust are recorded and known , otherwise only you know.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Your displeasure and disgust are recorded and known , otherwise only you know.

Indeed. Spoilt ballot papers are recorded. A large number of these would be a concern to any political party rather than a low turnout.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

I don't really see the difference between not voting and spoiling your ballot paper.

To make a football analogy: let's say you're really angry with your club chairman. You have two options: you can either go down to the ground and protest and call for his head; or you can stay at home, seething and thinking "I'm not going to give him my money".

If you do the latter, and if the chairman has no protest against him, the chairman can sit there and think that the reason the fans are staying away is because the manager is failing - and so the chairman can sack the manager. He certainly won't be resigning.

Unless you tell the chairman to go, he won't go. Unless you go down to the ballot box and register your protest - even if it's by spoiling your ballot paper - then your voice won't be heard.

Matt

 

[Its Only A Game]

Indeed. Spoilt ballot papers are recorded. A large number of these would be a concern to any political party rather than a low turnout.

surely they would only be a concern to the parties that lost? and as the spoilt paper doesn't say "i would have voted labour but decided to spoil my paper instead" there is no way any party can tell what effect its had on anyone.

 

[Its Only A Game]

To make a football analogy: let's say you're really angry with your club chairman. You have two options: you can either go down to the ground and protest and call for his head; or you can stay at home, seething and thinking "I'm not going to give him my money".

If you do the latter, and if the chairman has no protest against him, the chairman can sit there and think that the reason the fans are staying away is because the manager is failing - and so the chairman can sack the manager. He certainly won't be resigning.

Unless you tell the chairman to go, he won't go. Unless you go down to the ballot box and register your protest - even if it's by spoiling your ballot paper - then your voice won't be heard.

Matt

but this season i wasn't happy with the chairman, so i emailed him and explained my concerns and then got a phone call back from him to discuss it.

likewise if i had a problem with my MP I'd do the same.

Spoiling a ballot paper doesn't tell anyone anything

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Spoiling a ballot paper doesn't tell anyone anything

Yes it does, everyone who spoils their ballot paper is sending a clear message that they are unhappy with the status quo.

 

[Thorpe Groyney]

It wasn't my Grandpa. He did fight but only in pub brawls.

 

[Vange Shrimper]

I will vote if my bloody polling card comes through the post soon!

 

[Mad Cyril]

Your displeasure and disgust are recorded and known , otherwise only you know.

Unless you follow Travis Bickles' example.

 

[Manchester Shrimper]

Of course. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to moan about the government.

 

[Jam_Man]

Shant be voting as result in my area a foregone conclusion and not interested in anything any party has said.

All spin and no substance from all 3 major parties, and insane ramblings from the smaller ones.

They can all poke it I tell ya !

 

[McNasty]

It is a right that we should never take for granted. Make sure you safeguard that right by exercising it on May 6th.

Matt

Will you be allowing the butler time off to vote ?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Will you be allowing the butler time off to vote ?

The butler has been let go. The recession has even reached MtS Towers.

:(

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Yep I'll be voting, always do - for all the good it does me in Rayleigh & Wickford.

As for choosing not to vote, it's a perfectly valid decision (until they add 'none of the above' to the ballot) if the person not voting has looked at all the options and decided no-one adequately represents their views. If it's out of laziness / apathy that's what annoys me.

 

[Davros]

I dont buy all this that it would be un-democratic to force people to vote.

In Australia, it is compulsory to vote, and they are a pretty liberal society, and indeed under British Soverinty.

They do however have an option on the ballet paper for 'no-one', which i think would be the correct thing to do.

Politics effects everyone, whether they like it or not.

 

[Thorpe Groyney]

If a democracy truly encompasses social equality and respect, voting has to be of the person's own free will.