Voting in UK Elections

5 Jul 2010

One of the recurring themes throughout the Current Affairs forum seems to be dis-satisfaction with the various people / parties who get elected and then seemingly pee off large sections of the populace, either nationally or locally.
Their response is usually along the lines 'that the voters gave us a mandate for 'x' number of years to govern', however a closer look at actual voting figures usually begs to differ with this with UK General Elections usually having a higher turn out compared with local government or european elections, irrespective as to whether it's 1st past the post or some form of proportional system used. With all having declining turn out figures over the decades.
Whilst I don't want to be 'all big brother' here, perhaps time has come for everyone to actually have a say, and I mean everyone.
There should be compulsory voting at elections, however rather than just being faced with a ballot paper with all the usual names, parties and logo's we have now, at the bottom there is an additional box in which to place your cross against, entitled "None Of The Above".
This option wouldn't actually change any result, the parties still fighting it out / squabbling over the votes they gain, but we'd all know how many of the voters didn't want or couldn't decide on any of the candidates.
Certainly this might not be popular, seems some Returning Officers and Polling Stations being currently inept with the numbers they have turning out as it is, but nevertheless it gives the masses i.e. us an opportunity to vote for who we want and if we don't want any of them, to say so.
So instead of 'the voters gave us a mandate for 'x' number of years to govern' in many cases it will be the voters actually saying we didn't want you and as we are the ones paying your salaries, allowances, expenses, etc. perhaps you'll actually listen to what we want (some hope I know), but be in no doubt you failed to inspire us in the election campaign and your claim is to actually to be governing a minority for as long as you were elected for.
Will it make a difference ?
No, because it's not in the politico's own interest
Does the voting method matter ?
No, irrespective of 1st past the post or PR it's still a 'we didn't want any of you' figure
Something to ponder ?
Yes

5 Jul 2010

Hi this is a topic that has been around for awhile, and it is one that will always be about as long as we live in a country where we vote.
I personally do not think voting should be compulsory for the following reasons
Would increase the risks of voting fraud
Would occur policing cost
Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote
I believe people have the choice to vote or not vote. Forcing people to vote would just make people vote for the sake of it, not because they have a belief in one party or another.
There really is no benefit of forcing people to vote.

5 Jul 2010

Quote by AtomCom2001
I personally do not think voting should be compulsory for the following reasons
Would increase the risks of voting fraud
Would occur policing cost
Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote
I believe people have the choice to vote or not vote. Forcing people to vote would just make people vote for the sake of it, not because they have a belief in one party or another.
There really is no benefit of forcing people to vote.

Atom,
well made points
- Would increase the risks of voting fraud. More voting would increase as a side effect, therefore conversely fewer voting would decrease fraud, but sadly not the 'fraud's that get elected.
- Would occur policing cost. How ? Policing costs are fixed / governed by numbers of polling stations, movement of votes and coverage of the count and are therefore a relatively fixed cost from election to election largely irrespective as to the turn out
- Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote And look where that has got us over the last several decades. The point being madde here is that people should vote, however their option is "None Of The Above", which also answers your final comment
There is a separate debate as to how people physically cast their vote, the creation of Electoral Registers of voters, etc. that needs addressing, alongside any around fixed term elections in Local and European government, as well as Regional Assemblies though not HM Government level.
It's the physical casting and creation of Electoral Registers where voting fraud is most prevalent, and whilst fraud in these areas does occur and the associated regulation & legislation is archaic, overall when compared against the votes cast now such fraud is a very small percentage and reform in these areas is ongoing.
Atom, many thanks to adding to the debate though

5 Jul 2010

Quote by HnS

I personally do not think voting should be compulsory for the following reasons
Would increase the risks of voting fraud
Would occur policing cost
Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote
I believe people have the choice to vote or not vote. Forcing people to vote would just make people vote for the sake of it, not because they have a belief in one party or another.
There really is no benefit of forcing people to vote.

Atom,
well made points
- Would increase the risks of voting fraud. More voting would increase as a side effect, therefore conversely fewer voting would decrease fraud, but sadly not the 'fraud's that get elected.
- Would occur policing cost. How ? Policing costs are fixed / governed by numbers of polling stations, movement of votes and coverage of the count and are therefore a relatively fixed cost from election to election largely irrespective as to the turn out
- Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote And look where that has got us over the last several decades. The point being madde here is that people should vote, however their option is "None Of The Above", which also answers your final comment
There is a separate debate as to how people physically cast their vote, the creation of Electoral Registers of voters, etc. that needs addressing, alongside any around fixed term elections in Local and European government, as well as Regional Assemblies though not HM Government level.
It's the physical casting and creation of Electoral Registers where voting fraud is most prevalent, and whilst fraud in these areas does occur and the associated regulation & legislation is archaic, overall when compared against the votes cast now such fraud is a very small percentage and reform in these areas is ongoing.
Atom, many thanks to adding to the debate though
The costs I was talking about would be the costs that would be occurred in making sure people voted.
plus
How would you make people vote?
What would happen if people did not vote?
I am not sure what you mean about "look where that has got us over the last several decades" How would of forcing people to vote made any difference?
Generally the people that want this to come into force are the people that did not win in the last election. Instead of changing their polices that want to change the rules.

5 Jul 2010

no
i do vote and always have and i do it bec ause i am free to do so and i encourage everyone i know to do so also but to make it compulsory goes against the whole ethos of freedom

5 Jul 2010

Yes of course voting should compulsory

5 Jul 2010

Quote by bouncy332
no
i do vote and always have and i do it bec ause i am free to do so and i encourage everyone i know to do so also but to make it compulsory goes against the whole ethos of freedom

:thumbup:

5 Jul 2010

Voting should not be made compulsory, however the system should be changed to ensure that party representation in Parliament followed the total votes cast. In that way people would be encouraged to vote as their vote would always count, strategic voting would no longer be necessary and it would no longer take a huge swing to unseat a party with a large overall majority that failed to keep the promises that led to it being elected.
Too many freedoms and choices have been eroded already; compulsory voting would be another step towards a big brother, nanny state.

5 Jul 2010

Quote by Staggerlee_BB
Yes of course voting should compulsory

Only if "none of the lazy, money grabbing, criminals above" is an option.
Otherwise you are criminlaising people for not having anyone they actually want to vote for. Best of a bad lot is not and never will be a valid option.

6 Jul 2010

Quote by HnS

I personally do not think voting should be compulsory for the following reasons
Would increase the risks of voting fraud
Would occur policing cost
Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote
I believe people have the choice to vote or not vote. Forcing people to vote would just make people vote for the sake of it, not because they have a belief in one party or another.
There really is no benefit of forcing people to vote.

Atom,
well made points
- Would increase the risks of voting fraud. More voting would increase as a side effect, therefore conversely fewer voting would decrease fraud, but sadly not the 'fraud's that get elected.
- Would occur policing cost. How ? Policing costs are fixed / governed by numbers of polling stations, movement of votes and coverage of the count and are therefore a relatively fixed cost from election to election largely irrespective as to the turn out
- Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote And look where that has got us over the last several decades. The point being madde here is that people should vote, however their option is "None Of The Above", which also answers your final comment
There is a separate debate as to how people physically cast their vote, the creation of Electoral Registers of voters, etc. that needs addressing, alongside any around fixed term elections in Local and European government, as well as Regional Assemblies though not HM Government level.
It's the physical casting and creation of Electoral Registers where voting fraud is most prevalent, and whilst fraud in these areas does occur and the associated regulation & legislation is archaic, overall when compared against the votes cast now such fraud is a very small percentage and reform in these areas is ongoing.
Atom, many thanks to adding to the debate though
I'm not sure the legislation on voting registration is that archaic. There is a debate about whether we should move to individual registration from household registration, but no-one's explained to me how individual registration would work or what benefits it would deliver.
Personation does happen, but less often than people think. So does mishandling of postal votes, but that has been largely fixed too.
The debate around fixed term parliaments is an interesting one, but, in an adversarial system, the problem is that you can end up with a caretaker administration that has neither a mandate nor a majority.
Voting should be compulsory, with a fixed penalty for not voting. That does mean you need a none of the above option to record abstentions, but the problem then is that if you go to STV or AV do you include none of the above votes in your quota calculations? No-one's explained that one to me either, and it's part of the more general issue of whether spoiled and non transfer votes are included in the quota calculations for subsequent rounds of voting.

6 Jul 2010

Quote by HnS

I personally do not think voting should be compulsory for the following reasons
Would increase the risks of voting fraud
Would occur policing cost
Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote
I believe people have the choice to vote or not vote. Forcing people to vote would just make people vote for the sake of it, not because they have a belief in one party or another.
There really is no benefit of forcing people to vote.

Atom,
well made points
- Would increase the risks of voting fraud. More voting would increase as a side effect, therefore conversely fewer voting would decrease fraud, but sadly not the 'fraud's that get elected.
- Would occur policing cost. How ? Policing costs are fixed / governed by numbers of polling stations, movement of votes and coverage of the count and are therefore a relatively fixed cost from election to election largely irrespective as to the turn out
- Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote And look where that has got us over the last several decades. The point being madde here is that people should vote, however their option is "None Of The Above", which also answers your final comment
There is a separate debate as to how people physically cast their vote, the creation of Electoral Registers of voters, etc. that needs addressing, alongside any around fixed term elections in Local and European government, as well as Regional Assemblies though not HM Government level.
It's the physical casting and creation of Electoral Registers where voting fraud is most prevalent, and whilst fraud in these areas does occur and the associated regulation & legislation is archaic, overall when compared against the votes cast now such fraud is a very small percentage and reform in these areas is ongoing.
Atom, many thanks to adding to the debate though
I think Atom is referring to some kind of structure to compare the voting list with votes cast. Not Mr plod at the polling stations.
Travis

6 Jul 2010

Quote by

I personally do not think voting should be compulsory for the following reasons
Would increase the risks of voting fraud
Would occur policing cost
Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote
I believe people have the choice to vote or not vote. Forcing people to vote would just make people vote for the sake of it, not because they have a belief in one party or another.
There really is no benefit of forcing people to vote.

Atom,
well made points
- Would increase the risks of voting fraud. More voting would increase as a side effect, therefore conversely fewer voting would decrease fraud, but sadly not the 'fraud's that get elected.
- Would occur policing cost. How ? Policing costs are fixed / governed by numbers of polling stations, movement of votes and coverage of the count and are therefore a relatively fixed cost from election to election largely irrespective as to the turn out
- Would take away a freedom to vote or not vote And look where that has got us over the last several decades. The point being madde here is that people should vote, however their option is "None Of The Above", which also answers your final comment
There is a separate debate as to how people physically cast their vote, the creation of Electoral Registers of voters, etc. that needs addressing, alongside any around fixed term elections in Local and European government, as well as Regional Assemblies though not HM Government level.
It's the physical casting and creation of Electoral Registers where voting fraud is most prevalent, and whilst fraud in these areas does occur and the associated regulation & legislation is archaic, overall when compared against the votes cast now such fraud is a very small percentage and reform in these areas is ongoing.
Atom, many thanks to adding to the debate though
I think Atom is referring to some kind of structure to compare the voting list with votes cast. Not Mr plod at the polling stations.
Travis
You are correct Travis smile

What I was say was, if you made if law for everyone to vote, then you would need to police this law. Then you have the questions of what punishment you would give for breaking this law.

6 Jul 2010

I think Atom is referring to some kind of structure to compare the voting list with votes cast. Not Mr plod at the polling stations.

I assume you mean to check who can vote, who has voted and who has not ?
If so, then that is already done at the voting station.

6 Jul 2010

Quote by JTS
I think Atom is referring to some kind of structure to compare the voting list with votes cast. Not Mr plod at the polling stations.

I assume you mean to check who can vote, who has voted and who has not ?
If so, then that is already done at the voting station.
There are many people in the country that are not on the electrol roll. They are entitled to vote but they choice not to fill in the forms.. if you made not voting illegal, more people would choice not be on the electrol roll..

6 Jul 2010

Quote by flower411
I don`t thik it should be compulsory at all.....in fact it should be made more difficult.
People should have to answer questions to prove that they understand the policies of those they are voting for. That way, those that vote for people because of the way they look would probably be disqualified.
Just think.....Michael Foot would have had a chance and Tony Blair would have disappeared from the stage very early on !

oooooo i like ya thinking yep that gets my vote lol

6 Jul 2010

Quote by flower411
I don`t thik it should be compulsory at all.....in fact it should be made more difficult.
People should have to answer questions to prove that they understand the policies of those they are voting for. That way, those that vote for people because of the way they look would probably be disqualified.
Just think.....Michael Foot would have had a chance and Tony Blair would have disappeared from the stage very early on !

oooooo i like ya thinking yep that gets my vote lol

6 Jul 2010

I think flower speaks sense.

6 Jul 2010

Quote by flower411
I don`t thik it should be compulsory at all.....in fact it should be made more difficult.
People should have to answer questions to prove that they understand the policies of those they are voting for. That way, those that vote for people because of the way they look would probably be disqualified.
Just think.....Michael Foot would have had a chance and Tony Blair would have disappeared from the stage very early on !

Well that will discount about 75% of the idiots out there. lol

6 Jul 2010

lol flower

6 Jul 2010

Quote by AtomCom2001
I think Atom is referring to some kind of structure to compare the voting list with votes cast. Not Mr plod at the polling stations.

I assume you mean to check who can vote, who has voted and who has not ?
If so, then that is already done at the voting station.
There are many people in the country that are not on the electrol roll. They are entitled to vote but they choice not to fill in the forms.. if you made not voting illegal, more people would choice not be on the electrol roll..
If they are not registered to vote then they do not get to vote (they cannot vote legally)
if they are not on the electoral role they are not entitled to vote.
Further, every year or so there will arrive a document through the letter box called the electoral registration form. You are required to fill-in those living at the premises EVEN THOSE NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE. It is a legal requirement.
So if you are living in the UK and are eligible to vote you will receive your ballot card.

In order to vote in UK elections and referendums, you need to apply to have your name included on the electoral register. This is known as registering to vote.

Compulsory Voting