Assignment Facts

Question 1

Mandatory Voting-For

Answer 1

One country which has had large success in compulsory voting is Australia, who have found so much success in the system that it has remained in place since 1924, showing its popularity, as if it was unpopular it would have been removed long ago, due to everyone’s opinions being represented through their vote

Question 2

Against- Mandatory Voting

Answer 2

Donkey Voting
This is when people who protest the system/ do not care about politics just vote for random people, meaning those with their names first on the ballot are often at an advantage as a result.

Question 3

For Voting age to 16

Answer 3

Furthermore not only do the facts back this up, but also many regional parliaments in the UK have also given this power, with the Scottish Parliament and Welsh assemblies both letting 16/17 year olds vote in their elections, showing that many people are now growing to support this cause.

16 year olds can marry, have kids and join the military , showing they still have most of society’s responsibilities placed upon them, and should therefore be allowed to vote, as they are treated as adults in most respects

Question 4

For Change to AMS

Answer 4

During AMS voters have a range of MSPs who represent them, any which they can seek support from .This means people can speak to their MSPs and as there are several it is likely at least one will respond to them , and people are therefore more likely to get involved in politics and more likely to vote as a result

Question 5

Background knowledge

Answer 5

Currently across the UK voter turnout rates are in decline, falling from 68.8% in 2017 to 67.3% in 2019 which is a hugely significant decrease which must be counteracted in order to uphold democracy.

in some seats the turnout rate lowers to roughly a half, in the constituency Kingston upon Hull east the turnout rate lowered to below 50% (2019)

Question 6

Intro- Lower voting age

Answer 6

Which has received cross party support from the SNP, Labour and Liberal Democrats with the only exception being the conservatives, according to the bbc.

Question 7

Intro- Mandatory Voting

Answer 7

Another proposed solution is introducing mandatory voting, which has seen huge success in Australia , with their turnout rates not falling below 91% since its introduction

Question 8

Intro- AMS

Answer 8

Additional member system only managed a turnout rate of 55.6% in 2016 in the Scottish election, however this is skewed by the fact that many see Scottish elections as less important than UK elections and it still is hugely successful to have a confident majority turning out to vote

Question 9

Against change to AMS

Answer 9

Creates coalition governments- Means that strong, majority governments are not created, and none of the electorate gets what they want as bills struggle to pass, shown by SNP failing to win a majority

Question 10

Would you vote if there was a cash fine for not voting?

Yes- 100%

Answer 10

This shows compulsory voting would greatly increase turnout, with nearly everyone voting as a result, showing that compulsory voting would be extremely effective in raising turnout

Question 11

Do you think we should introduce compulsory voting?

Yes- 8

No- 9

Maybe- 5

Answer 11

However when surveyed more people would be against compulsory voting than for it (source 1), this shows that although it would increase actual turnout in elections those who turnout to vote may care less and therefore are less likely to be involved in campaigning and joining parties, as well as other political behaviour which is non essential.

Question 12

“16 and 17-year-olds played an important part in the Scottish independence referendum, with 75 per cent of people in this age group turning out to vote, higher than the 54 per cent of 18-24 year olds who voted.”

Answer 12

Source 2 shows that when they are able to vote 16-17 year olds do so in larger numbers (nearly ⅕ more)than those around them, showing that in reducing the voting age we are also increasing the percentage of those who would vote, and therefore voter turnout

Question 13

Are you in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 across the UK?

Yes- 17

No- 5

Answer 13

Over three quarters of people (Source 1) are in favour of lowering the voting age out of those surveyed, showing huge public support for the change. As there is overwhelming support this would be a good change, as it would increase satisfaction in politics and the government from the public, increasing participation in future

Question 14

If you are ages 16/17 how often would you vote if you had the choice?
Always- 17

Sometimes- 1

Do you vote currently?

Always- 9

Never- 5

Sometimes- 1

Answer 14

Furthermore, out of those surveyed, 94% of 16-17 year olds (Source 1) said they would always vote if given the choice, whereas only 57% out of 18+ year olds always voted (also source 1). Furthermore, in lowering the voting age we are engaging those in politics who are still young, and in ensuring they are interested in politics then this could have an extremely positive effect on the future, as they have many years left to vote due to their youth, increasing turnout for many years to come.

Question 15

“60% of British adults are against ‘reducing the voting age to 16 for all UK elections”

Answer 15

However a yougov survey (source 5) shows that most of the public is in fact against lowering the voting age. This contradicts my survey, however it may represent the national UK population better than my survey, as all of those who received it were in scotland. This also shows that those of all age groups across the UK oppose this idea, meaning that implementing a lowered voting age would struggle to find support from the public

Question 16

Over 22 million votes (68%) were wasted in this election

Answer 16

68% of votes in the 2017 General election were wasted due to FPTP (source 4), as all those who did not vote for the winning party all had their votes count for nothing. However in AMS if their choice failed in the first vote they can still count for in the second vote, as if their party performed poorly in the first they are at an advantage in the second vote

Question 17

Would you support a change from FPTP to AMS

Yes- 12

No- 2

Don’t know- 8

Answer 17

An overwhelming majority out of those who had an opinion were in favour of a change to AMS (source 1), showing that it would be a well backed move, which would be hugely popular amongst the public. Not only would this mean increased turnout rates as voters are happier with the political system but also it is the core values of a democracy to respect voters wishes, and it is clearly shown here that voters would support this decision

Question 18

Would you be more likely to vote if there were no safe seats- every party had a realistic chance of winning

Yes-17

No-2

Don’t know-3

Answer 18

Finally, 77% of those surveyed say they would be more likely to vote if safe seats were eliminated (source 1) , which introducing AMS would help to do. Due to even those in traditionally safe seats also having regional representatives to represent them, if their local MP is likely from a party they oppose.

Question 19

“It’s simple to Understand “

Answer 19

Another reason for keeping FPTP is that “It’s simple to understand.” (according to source 6). This means that people will not be deterred from voting, as they could be with AMS ,as they may struggle to understand the system and therefore refrain from voting, with AMS’s . This could result in decreased voter turnouts amongst those with less political knowledge.