To Vote, Or Not To Vote?

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With the election approaching in May, Jess and Josh debate whether it remains useful or legitimate to vote.


JESS:  I plan to vote in the upcoming general election, despite my dissatisfaction with the lack of honesty, diversity and representation in politics. I mean, of course I’m angry that a group of Oxbridge educated, white, middle aged men are deciding important issues that affect my life when they are about as in touch with it as someone from Mars. Does David Cameron even know what Aldi is? Has he experienced periods, pregnancy, prejudice, racism, poverty or motherhood?

It’s completely wrong, I agree, but not voting as a means to protest and change the system has always seemed ridiculous in my eyes. It’s like trying to paint a room without picking up a paintbrush and then moaning when the walls haven’t miraculously turned a new colour. If you don’t take part in the input you can’t possibly moan about the output because, well, where were you?

JOSHUA: I plan not to vote in the upcoming general election and believe this shouldn’t be the deciding factor in whether I am allowed to voice my political opinions. By this logic, unless you actively take part in curing an illness then you cannot complain if people die from it. Ridiculous! Am I seriously being scrutinised on the validity of my political views because I don’t want to vote, yet BNP/UKIP voters are given freedom to express their views simply because they did? The very nature of a democratic election is that the population have the right to participate to whatever degree they see fit, and so, whilst I understand the logic behind abstainers having no right to complain, it is logic that defies the very point of a democracy. 

JESS: At the end of the day, the system our country has implemented to have our views heard is voting. Therefore, if you bypass this it does seem twisted when you complain about the outcome not suiting your ideals. That being said, I do believe we need greater access points for those whom are tired with current politics to show their dissatisfaction in ways other than abstention.

Maybe if everybody decided to protest current politics by abstaining, politicians might listen to the call for change. However, the reality is that other people will vote and thus their voices get heard, which could lead to the rise of extremist minority parties…cough, UKIP, cough. 

Furthermore, if politicians identify  a core block of voters they’re going to formulate policies that attract these people because after all, they’re the ones who determine who holds power. As a result, our generation hasn’t had its fair share of policies and this seriously needs to change. In 2015, if we make our percentage of the vote big enough and finally valuable, politicians will have to take notice of our views and target us with policies.

JOSHUA: I take the view of people voting as equal to their voices being heard with a pinch of salt. I could write volumes on policies that just didn’t happen and times voters were left out in the rain. Take the Liberal Democrats promise for fairer tuition fees. Do voters really get heard because as far as I see, my complaints as an abstainer seem just as likely to be heard as those of a voter (not at all).

As for abstainers contributing to UKIP power, whilst they have managed to weed their way into the public eye the past couple of years I really don’t think they’re a threat. Okay, they’ll win a few seats but that’s hardly the fault of non voters!

Finally, if you’re going to persuade a non voter to vote, it’s probably best to abandon an attack on their right to complain and instead meet them with an invitation to join you in your political views whilst accepting their right to not join you.

JESS: The invitation to vote has always been pretty simple to me. For a start, people died for our right to vote, so even if I don’t necessarily vote for a party, I’ll make sure I go down to the polls and spoil a ballot so that my right has been excercised and I’ll at least be counted in the number of pissed off ballot spoilers. Maybe this is something a few abstainers could consider? Actually registering anger and not just excluding themselves.

This links to the benefit of inclusion voting brings. Completely flipping your point on its head and taking the Clegg scenario – I wonder what he could have achieved with a greater pressure / number of student votes to his name, amplifying the call for lower tuition fees, which on paper was pretty weak… Maybe if a greater number of us had voted for the Lib Dems our bank accounts would be looking pretty different this summer? 

JOSHUA: I am forever in admiration of those brave enough to die for the right to vote and fully aware that without the their sacrifices I would be in a much less accommodating political climate.  Maybe you’re on to something with that thought, however, to spite the dead is not why I abstain from voting. I abstain because the current leading parties don’t represent my interests and to vote for a lesser party ‘just because’ simply defeats the point of voting. I am not going to cast my vote if I am unsure of who I truly support. 

Spoil my ballot paper? I guess it is something a lot of abstainers could get on board with and I guess I haven’t exactly ruled it out. My current issue is that if I don’t vote at all then no party will get my official support and if I spoil my ballot paper then no party gets my….. official support. They both achieve essentially the same thing in the eyes of the parties and in my own, but I do accept that my opinions may be more likely to be heard or at least accepted this way.

JESS: Yeah, in an ideal world not voting would be registered by the politicians as a time to change and shape up, and in that world I would agree with you in terms of abstention. But the reality is politicians pay attention to the people who do vote and care little for the ones who don’t. You just end up being ignored which defeats the whole point of politics. Therefore, my invitation to vote is simply, vote because you want to be heard. Vote because you want to be included and vote because you want change. When you give up on politics, it kinda gives up on you. 

JOSHUA: You say that in reality parties only listen to people who vote but I see a different reality where parties listen to all of us regardless of abstention. There are other ways of getting my political views across and  most of them seem much more effective than voting – such as debates like this…where we really could go on all day! 


In danger of having a record length article that you might only finish reading come election time, the fact of the matter remains that voting is an individual choice and completely up to you! We’d love to know if in May you will be crossing a box, ripping up a paper or staying well away from the polls…. Tell us below!

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