Well one initiative is set to be rolled out tomorrow that involves the Electoral Commission teaming up with the social media giant Facebook.
From tomorrow morning, every Facebook user who logs on to his or her homepage on the UK version of the website will be asked if they are on the electoral roll. If they are not, they will be redirected to a registration page which will be simple enough to gather the required information from the elector (address etc.) before producing a completed form ready to print and send off to the local Election Office.
The Electoral Commission has traditionally used newspapers, magazines, radio and television to drive up the numbers of people on the electoral roll, but has had to reassess its strategy since social networking sites such as Facebook did not have such a place in our daily lives back at the time of the last election in 2005.
Richard Allan, Facebook's director of policy, said that the sites 23 million British users were drawn from every age group and ethnic background and that as a result “[we] are uniquely placed to reach unregistered voters and to ensure no one who wants to vote, and is entitled to do so, misses out on the chance to have their say.”
Students are entitled to register either at their term address or their home address.
People who have moved home, even if they remained within the same constituency, have to re-register.
Unregistered voters have until April 20th to add their names to the electoral roll, which at only 11 working-days from the Election Day itself is the closest it’s ever been.
An estimated 37% of registered people aged 18 to 24 voted at the 2005 election and 39% at the 2001 election.
Any initiative therefore should be welcomed with open arms, let’s hope that it does result in more youngsters signing up to vote. Question is, with political apathy and misunderstanding at a high level – will they know what the electoral roll actually is…!
The Electoral Commission has traditionally used newspapers, magazines, radio and television to drive up the numbers of people on the electoral roll, but has had to reassess its strategy since social networking sites such as Facebook did not have such a place in our daily lives back at the time of the last election in 2005.
Richard Allan, Facebook's director of policy, said that the sites 23 million British users were drawn from every age group and ethnic background and that as a result “[we] are uniquely placed to reach unregistered voters and to ensure no one who wants to vote, and is entitled to do so, misses out on the chance to have their say.”Students are entitled to register either at their term address or their home address.
People who have moved home, even if they remained within the same constituency, have to re-register.
Unregistered voters have until April 20th to add their names to the electoral roll, which at only 11 working-days from the Election Day itself is the closest it’s ever been.
An estimated 37% of registered people aged 18 to 24 voted at the 2005 election and 39% at the 2001 election.
Any initiative therefore should be welcomed with open arms, let’s hope that it does result in more youngsters signing up to vote. Question is, with political apathy and misunderstanding at a high level – will they know what the electoral roll actually is…!
