Jim of Cambridge, UK asked the following question which I've put on the gripes page and not the question page because this is not a trivial issue and I believe he provides more opinion in this diatribe than actually asking for solutions...
Ok Leesie, here's the gripe/question for you:
How do we motivate the 40% or so of the eligible electorate of the UK to get up of their moronic, lazy, complacent arses and vote? I'd like to think that it would be as simple as reminding them that it is only by voting that they can effectively influence the very people who will ultimately GOVERN their sorry lives? Funny word that "GOVERN" implies people with some form of power over you, wouldn't you say?. How often in life do you get to select or influence those with power over you? Can you select your boss, the traffic warden, the judge? No you cannot (at least not unless you are connected) so what is it with these people that CHOOSE not to exercise their right to vote and what can be done?
Am I right in thinking that in Australia it is illegal not to vote? It seems odd/extreme to criminalise the issue, a tad big brotherish. What about discounting the council tax for those people who vote? Financial rewards eh, you could get a loyalty card, every time you vote the returning officer stamps your card and after 5 elections you get a free MP? It would be nice to think that we could simply rely on the fact that we should be bloody grateful to have the vote and not need the strong arm of the law of financial encouragement to do what should be done by any responsible citizen interested in their own way of life and the actions and impact of their country on the wider world.
Phew!
Note from Leesie:
Jim, this is the kind of correspondence that keeps Leesie.org at the cutting edge of political debate and the premier opinion website worldwide. Thank you.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I come from a country where people endured terrible suffering and humiliation just so that they could have a say in how their homeland was run. I find people not voting to be worse than pathetic. I find it to be an insult to the Nelson Mandelas, Martin Luther Kings and Emily Pankhursts who have dedicated their lives to fighting for a cause that provides very little reward other than the right to be heard.
I don't for one minute believe that people who stay at home on election day are
exercising any democratic right. That's a ridiculous excuse for lazy people to sit on their butts and watch Channel 5. If you really have no party to vote for, start your own. Even go to the polling station and spoil your ballot. Don't do nothing. Grrr.!
What is terrifying, is that Britain is now governed by a party for which 80% of the adult population did not vote!
I think two things need to change in Britain: 1 - we need proportional representation and 2 - voting needs to be compulsory
I would put money on it that, had this been the case a few years ago, Britain would never have supported the Warmongers and their quest to steal Iraq's oil.
