How might we solve a problem like voter apathy?

Voter apathy is on the increase throughout the UK and Ireland and that doesnt look like
changing any time soon. These are 10 suggestions (some moderate, some radical) that I
thought might encourage a change in voting patterns.

1- Lower the voting age: I believe a common misconception among seasoned politicians is
that the youth have little interest in politics but, in my opinion, the Scottish independence
referendum shows that, with a voter turnout of 75% for 16-17 year olds, the young have as
much interest in how their country is ran as those of other ages. In fact, as many of this age
group are making huge choices regarding their education and are shaping a new career and a
life of independence it could be argued that they are most in need of playing a part in
government policy. The current system results in a vicious circle of politicians not playing to
that age of electorate because they dont feel the young care enough to vote, which in turn
makes the young turn against politics because they feel it doesnt represent them. Its worth
noting that Manx and Channel Islanders can vote from the age of 16 so it does occur within
Britain, although as British dependencies people from here have no sway within UK politics
at any level. It is my view that younger voters are exactly what this country needs to spark its
political imagination before they lose heart in the electoral system as they grow older. Let
them have their input while they are still fresh and eager. Lets not forget that many of the
great revolutions throughout world history started within student societies.

2- Disallowing debt companies access to voting register: I think this is one of the most
common reasons I hear as to why people dont vote. I believe if the voter register was to be
seen as truly impartial it must not allow access to its contents willy-nilly. I also believe that it
is no coincidence that voter turnout has diminished considerably in the years that personal
debt has spiralled, with debt companies flourishing as a consequence. There are many people,
rightly or wrongly, trying to stay off the radar as best they can in an attempt to avoid being
hounded by debt collectors who use the electoral register as their main source of information
when tracking someone down. I feel very strongly that no company, no matter what its
business, should be allowed to profit from peoples right to carry out their civic duty. A
change in this law would, on the face of it, benefit some parties over others, although I may
be being unfairly stereotypical in this view.

3- Weekend voting: Since 1935, national elections have taken place on Thursdays. Up until
2011, that was just a matter of convention, rather than law. One theory claims the tradition
began because people used to be paid on Fridays, so voting on a Thursday was a good way to
ensure that they werent too drunk to cast their ballots. Another theory claims that letting
voters decide on a Thursday gave a new government enough time over the weekend to get its

act together before starting work the following Monday. Whatever the reason, I dont think
any excuse outweighs the benefits of having weekend voting in modern day peoples hectic
lives. The average family has two working adults now to supplement the cost of raising a
family so once they get home from work, lift the kids, do the homework, clean the house,
make and eat the dinner, do the dishes, get the kids to bed etc. etc. Im sure the last thing
many of the electorate want to do is go out and vote. In fact, once theyve the kids in bed one
of them has to stay home to avoid wilful neglect. On the other hand, a parent can take the
kids with them at the weekend, or can couple their civic duty with their weekly trip to the
supermarket etc. etc. Basically, weekend voting is so much easier for people nowadays so it
would surely help increase turnout. Point of note- I say weekend voting but really Saturday
voting is the only viable option, given the probability of a Christian backlash if there were to
be an introduction of Sunday voting.

4- Compulsory voting: This would appear to be the most obvious choice for those who truly
wish to combat voter apathy. Currently 12 countries enforce compulsory voting, including
Australia, and many South American countries (point of note, Brazil and Argentina both have
compulsory voting and a voter age of 16). North Korea also has compulsory voting but its
lustre is dimmed by the fact that theres only ever one name on the ballot! The combined
population of these countries is 4.8% of the worlds population which doesnt sound like
much but that means that 353,124,652 people in the world partake in compulsory votingthats more than the population of the USA and 5.5 times the population of the whole of the
UK. Opponents of compulsory voting point to the lack of freedom of choice but those who
live in these countries can show voter disproval by intentionally spoiling their ballots and in
some cases countries give the option of none of the above. I feel this is a much better way
for the public to voice their opposition to their electoral choices. As it stands at the moment,
we have no way to tell if voter non-turnout is a political choice or a circumstantial one.

5-Manifesto contracts: This suggestion is of a duplex nature as it is concerned with the lack
of information accorded to the public as well as the lack of government accountability- two
issues that the public feel very strongly about. Firstly, the majority (in my opinion) of the
general public do not know a great deal about what exactly political parties stand for. In
Northern Ireland voting is still usually split down the border issue regardless of party policy
on any other issues, whereas the rest of the UK vote is still generally split down the issue of
class above all other. I feel that many voters are being turn off by this considerably due to the
fact that they never hear the politicians talking about issues which affect them directly from
day to day. Perhaps if all parties approached every election with a fresh, published manifesto
people would feel more in touch with the power to change the issues of the day and really
know what it is that they are voting for. The second part of this suggestion is to make those
parties, should they gain power, accountable for the promises they made in their pre-election
manifesto. People are sick and tired of seeing their vote squandered and taken for granted by
politicians who go back on their word as soon as they gain office. People cannot be surprised
there is voter apathy when they see the political classes abuse the trust that was afforded to
them by disregarding the wishes of those that voted for them to be their representation at the
seat of government. Yes, I understand that this would be something that would be terribly

hard to qualify and enforce but the double-crossing actions of some politicians have been
tantamount to nothing short of fraud.

6- More official civic participation: By civic participation Im generally referring to taking

part in national and provincial referendums. I feel that if more people had a greater say
concerning the bigger issues of the day they would feel more politically empowered. Its all
very well choosing someone to represent you politically but once that person takes office you
are basically at the whim of his or her every decision- no matter how great an issue it is.
Perhaps we could have more say, as a people, over things like spending cuts/allowances,
international alliances and privatisation of services if we could all have a referendum style
vote on such major issues. The effect of this would be to really see politicians work for what
they believe in by engaging with the public and putting their reasoning across before allowing
it to go to a vote. Of course, the potential failure in this suggestion is, paradoxically, that you
cannot hope to fight voter apathy by asking the population to vote more often!

7- Online voting: I find it hard to fathom, in todays society that we are still even discussing
this option as opposed to it already being a reality. Most people live their lives through the
internet these days so why shouldnt they be allowed to cast their vote electronically? We do,
after all, conduct major and secure dealings online all the time, not least of all internet
banking, heavy-traffic commerce and submittal of personal data and examinations. We can
tax our vehicles online now too. Surely the internet is now a viable place where electoral
business could be conducted safely and efficiently. This suggestion appears so obvious to me
that I feel I cant really add anything more to the argument.

8- Relevant history lessons in school: Again, returning to the issue of lack of political party
knowledge among the general populous. I always found it strange that our schoolchildren are
taught about topics such as the Anglo-Saxons and Tudors at school rather than more recent
(and therefore more relevant) history. Why not cover the winter of discontent or Good
Friday Agreement? Or the devolution of Scotland? Or a generally wider scope of the
Troubles? Surely this is history that pupils could use to add to their view of todays world
rather than the Iron Age. Im not belittling the interesting things that can be learned from
these periods in history but Im advocating that if one wishes to carry on an academic study
of history then that is the time for such topics. Surely we should be teaching our recent
histories to our children while they are still in the compulsory stage of studying. At the very
least, it could combat the warped and erroneous telling of our recent past to our children by
those that wish to radicalise them.

9- Whistle-stop town hall meetings: Again, in keeping with voters feeling out of the loop
where politics is concerned. I suggest that a collective of local councillors from opposing
parties gather at regular intervals in local town halls/community centres and put their views
across to the public, explain what theyve done/plan to do and answer questions and concerns
that members of the public may have. This would surely result in grass-roots politicians

having a better knowledge of what their electorate want and also give them a chance to tell
the voters things they may have done that had went unnoticed in the public eye. This would
also help the public appreciate where their vote has went and show that it hasnt been wasted
(although if they feel their vote has been wasted this time around theyll be better informed
on how to cast their vote next time).

10- Parliamentary juries: Of all the suggestions, this is perhaps the most radical but its also
one I find greatly appealing. The democracy we know today is an evolution of the purity of
Ancient Athens and their style of direct democracy was and still is the envy of much of the
world. One of the key elements to Athenian politics was that every male adult citizen partook
in legislative affairs and had equal say in the political arena of the day. Im not suggesting
that that is even remotely practical in todays world (for starters there were only roughly
40,000 adult males in Athens back then) but I think there is a great appeal in its principals.
What if, instead of pan-population enforced voting or multiplex referendums, we had a onetime participation in government affairs- much like we have with our judiciary jury service?
A week of civic participation at a local, regional or national level where a random panel of
the general public can have a legislative vote (although no chance to address the room, only
listen to the elected representatives and decide which argument makes most sense- much like
a courtroom). Court juries are seen as evidence of a fair and transparent judicial system so I
would suggest that a legislative jury would have the same effect for our political systems.