Voter turnout in the UK is unpredictable, but the last two general elections have had particularly low turnouts of around 60%, while the average between 1922 and 1997 has been more than 70%. The low turnout of the past few elections can be explained by a variety of reasons, as Alison Park describes. However, it is difficult to predict, in light of the recent scandal of MPs’ expenses and financial crisis, how people will react this time round. The fact that Conservative and Labour parties are close in the polls may remove some of the apathy that the certainty of a Labour landslide induced in 2001 and 2005.Online voting would remove the issues of actually getting to the polling station, as the clip from the The West Wing below, demonstrates. (Republicans in Orange County would be less likely to vote after work if it was raining...for those of you not obsessed with The West Wing).
For political public relations, as PRWeek brings up, online communications are measurable and enable engagement with specific publics, and in this case, the general public. If online voting became a real possibility, it could mean that politicians could be less inclined to go door-to-door and much more likely to be 'IM'ing their constituents instead. But though this ‘engagement’ is valid in its own right, is it really a replacement for getting to moan about the bins at your candidate in real life?
There is a plethora of issues online voting brings up. Vote
tampering is just one of them. But I can’t help but think it would be interesting to see how much of a difference it would make and whether it would separate the wheat of apathy from the chaff of laziness when it comes to deciding the future of our country.
We now live a culture where more people are interested in voting for Xfactor and strictly come dancing, and where convenience is a must. An online voting culture, I believe, would see a marked increase in voter 'turnout'. Those who go out and vote in polling stations probably still will do this, an online version will simply make it easier for the apathetic to have their vote counted.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am concerned online voting is a great option. Thinking about the recent elections in Romania online voting will definitely ease the "job" and people will not wait in line for HOURS to express their political will. However I do not find it feasible here given the percentage of Romanians who are computer literate (40% according to an EC study). In the UK online voting might be possible I guess. Btw, how many people there use the Internet? On the other hand, young people are more likely to vote using the Internet than older ones I think. And in Romania for example retired persons in the country side mostly are the first to vote in the early morning of elections day. I doubt they have a computer:) Youths are more likely to vote online than not vote at all in my opinion. So like any other things online voting is subject to a lot of debate…But when talking about politics and the online media it is for sure that social media plays an increasingly more important role in gaining electorate. Another issue that arises concerns online voting fraud...
ReplyDeleteAlthouh the option of online voting sounds very revolutionary and practical in the same time, I have many concerns on how the technical issues would not only be handled, but also communicated in such a way that citizens would consider it as a worthtrusting alternative. A lot of PR work has to be done!!!! People are asked to vote not every day, not even once per year, so I believe that is our obligation to participate to this democratic process regardless of the time and effort required ...
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