East Antrim DUP MLA Alastair Ross has said that the proposal from the Ulster Unionists to make voting in elections compulsory both ignores the problem of why people aren’t voting, and goes against everything that a free democracy is meant to represent. UUP MLA Danny Kinahan will ask the Assembly to endorse his motion calling on the introduction of mandatory voting in the Assembly. Commenting, Mr. Ross said,
“All politicians should be deeply concerned with falling turnouts at elections, not only in Northern Ireland but across the United Kingdom. We all have a responsibility to try and connect with the electorate, make politics relevant to them and stand on a political platform that inspires people to come out and support you.
To make it a legal obligation on people to vote however simply ignores the issue of disengagement or disinterest, and attempts to mask the core of the problem. In a free democracy people have the right to vote for whomever they wish, but they also have the right, even if we don’t like it, to be apolitical and stay at home.
Forcing people to vote will not increase the legitimacy of a government. I fail to understand the argument that those who take no interest in politics, and do not wish to vote will be well enough informed to cast a preference at the ballot box. And why should they if they don’t want to?
Those in favour of compulsory voting argue that a ‘none of the above’ box on ballot paper will address that problem. It does not. How is the legitimacy of a government enhanced by people voting for ‘none of the above’, and what if the ‘none of the above’ box gets the majority of votes? Anyway, voting for nobody defeats the very point of compulsory voting!
Compulsory voting is oppressive, expensive and difficult to enforce. Rather than take this type of draconian actions we should be trying to inspire the electorate, and even examine whether changing the day, the location or the way in which we cast our votes would encourage more people to exercise their democratic right.”
