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Why vote?


Voting is seen as a democratic right. The media horrifies us by accounting those who are denied this right. Despite this, in leading democracies, such as the UK, many chose not to vote at all. This blog is going to highlight the many reasons why you should leave your sofa on polling day. I am not going to suggest who to vote for, as it is not the aim of this blog to influence anyone how to vote. I do not see any reason why a person should not vote, as postal voting is available for anyone who cannot get to the polling station on the day. This is why in this post I will not explain why people do not vote, as I feel it would justify people not to vote.

The major reason to vote is to hold the incumbent government to account. There is always a future election hanging over any government, no matter how far away. They know any controversial policy should always be approached with caution; this is irrespective of how large a majority they may have. It is often the controversial policies which sway voters in the subsequent election. The incumbent government is the one who wins or loses an election. The opposition have no other role in parliament other than to hold the government to account. This means they have no legislative power and thus are not under scrutiny.

The party that is voted into power at an election gains a mandate to undertake their manifesto. The extent of the mandate depends on the majority the party has in parliament, for example the 1997 Labour landslide gave the Labour Party a massive advantage when bringing devolution to the peripheries of the United Kingdom, but the 2010 general election resulted in the current coalition which has been fraught by compromise. It is the people of the UK who decide who should be in power when they go and vote.

In Australia and Belgium voting is compulsory. Perhaps if this was the case in the UK our government would be held to account to a greater degree at an election and the shambles of a “high turnout” in the 2010 general election would not be repeated, where many were turned away from polling stations when the polls closed. Even if you have to go to the polling station to vote as is mandatory Australia and Belgium, there is the option of spoiling your ballot. If you do not agree with the policies of any of the parties you have the option of doing so via spoiling your ballot and it is perfectly within your rights to do this. Usually ballots are spoilt by accident but if enough ballots are spoilt, such as in the case of the Police Commissioner elections in November 2012, those elected have less of a mandate to perform their job.

Tactical voting has increased in the UK because of the electoral system, which reduces the votes needed to win a seat for each additional candidate who stands in an election. In the majority of UK seats, one party is almost guaranteed victory and votes are split between the other political parties. If for an example someone supports the Conservatives but lives in a Labour seat, they may vote for the Liberal Democrats if there is a chance that the Liberal Democrats have a chance of taking the seat from Labour (this works in any combination of parties). This often leads to the electorate compromising on their choice of party and as a result compromising on the policies they truly believe in. This should not be how voting should be undertaken but as the UK rejected the chance to change their electoral system in May 2011; tactical voting will remain.

In the UK there is a large choice of political parties. They may not fill our parliament but they are there to win our votes. This choice makes our vote vital and they all make a difference. Some seats may be guaranteed to be won by a political party regardless of who the candidate is, but any party will stand up and take note if the majority is damaged, especially by minor parties. The choice put before the UK electorate is a genuine choice. If we lived in one of the many dictatorships around the world there would not be any of the choice we have available to us.

The UK population is obsessed with reality television which involves voting procedures. If people took this desire to vote in reality television to a poll which happens so infrequently and takes very little time, our parliament would have a greater mandate regardless of the majority they had in parliament. Polling stations are often within walking distance of all voters registered to them; this reduces the excuse that it is too far to go to the polling station. It is necessary to vote as it strengthens our democracy and enables us to influence our politicians. Our right to vote may have been won many years ago, but our need to vote has never been more crucial. MPs vote on more and more issues that relate to our everyday lives, so it is important to ensure, by voting, that it is the correct people who make the decisions for us. If you are unsure whether you will be able to make it to your polling station on polling day it is easy to request a postal vote, so that you can still cast your vote. If you do not vote, you cannot complain about what the government is doing.

The http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/ website is full of more information about voting and also how to register your vote if you haven’t already done so.
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Comments

  1. Nick23 March 2013 at 13:55

    I read the article through i wont tax you with the massive reply i was thinking about but i can never resist commenting on political discussions in some way.

    Does not compulsory voting by neccesity involve the exercise of some sort of coercion on the voting public?
    Surely the point of having the "right" to do something is that you also have the "right" not to do it?


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  2. Unknown23 March 2013 at 14:17

    The thing with compulsory voting is tricky, clearly it benefits the democracy side of things because only a small minority do not go to vote. Even if you have to go and vote you don't have to vote if that makes sense, you can go and post an unmarked ballot or spoil it if you so wish. So in that sense you are exercising your right not to vote but for people who are maybe too lazy to go and vote haven't got that excuse. I don't see it as an excuse as my polling station is less than a minute drive away if the lights are on green and only a few minutes extra if they are on red, most polling stations are designed to be that close.

    Younger people tend to be the ones not to vote, as well which if they had to go and vote there might be more of an incentive for them to engage in politics. It annoys me when people I talk to moan about what the government are doing but when you ask them if they voted in 2010 the answer if often no.

    I am not 100 per cent sure if I agree with compulsory voting but what I don't agree with is how political parties all can justify a victory somewhere if the turnout is low.

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