We are in one of the privileged areas who are "experimenting" with a postal only vote in the Local and European elections this year. Anyway, got my ballot papers through the post the other day, although at first glance they nearly got chucked away as they looked like a mailshot from a catalogue company.
The whole process is flawed, it's not that it's particularly complicated but just too involved that makes it all very cumbersome and a hassle. First you have to declare you are who you say you are, sign a declaration then get a witness to vouch for you and sign. This gets detached from the main ballot paper.
The ballot paper itself is straightforward enough, 10 candidates for the Euro Elections and just 2 for the Local Elections (yes the Tories have given up around here, so much for democracy :roll: ). As an aside, I have to wonder why there are so many anti-European parties that have surfaced. Surely it would be to their benefit to merge together and actually become a real political force rather than just splitting the Anti-European vote. No ?
After all of this comes lots of faffing about with 2 envelopes, putting the ballot paper in one, the declaration in another, and putting one envelope in the other, whilst ensuring bar codes and addresses etc. match up in the windows. Then of course trotting down to the post box. Can we really see the old dears in the nursing home bothering with any of this ? Surely the point of democracy is to make it accessible and simple, what could possibly be simpler than strolling down to your local polling station, standing in a wooden booth and putting your cross against your choice of candidate before popping it in the battered old box ? It's also infinitely more satisfying and visible, like you've actually participated in democracy.
Just because an envelope has been put through the door doesn't make it anymore accessible, and it's had the opposite effect on me, completely turning me off the whole process.
So, after all that I've decided I can't be bothered, and besides, I spilt my minestrone cup-a-soup on the ballot paper anyway. And don't even get me started on the process for getting a replacement form.
:roll:
- BADGER BADGER!
