Electoral Reform: Let’s Spice Things Up!

First of all, a confession. I recently wrote my guide to voting and an article on hung Parliaments. People even started privately asking me for advice on voting, politics, the different parties and their policies. However I feel compelled to admit that I have never voted before. Five years ago I didn’t really care to be honest. Maybe it was the fact that I’d never voted before which played a part in building my interest and wanting to write about it. Of course the TV debates, the closeness of the battle and, for the first time in my life, the feeling that whoever got in might actually have a big impact on my life also played a part. And now with the Liberal Democrats having formed a coalition Government with the Conservatives, electoral reform is really on the cards.

So it’s fair to say that, on Election day, I was really looking forward to going through the process, making the effort and knowing I’d made my choice and had cast my vote. However, as I walked away from the polling station later that day, I felt incredibly underwhelmed about the whole thing. I had turned up, putting my serious face on and trying to look like a man who thinks about things, in particular political things. I may actually have looked like a man doing an impression of a boxer dog. I was then set upon by a man from the Green Party who wanted to know my voter number. I didn’t know it. I was a man trying to look like he knew about political things, yet I didn’t know my own voter number. Bugger.

I was directed through to the hall where the voting took place. I expected a room full of nervous chatter, queues to get their forms, people silently agonising over who’s box to cross. It was empty. I mean I was the only person in there voting. At 7pm in the evening. I was worried this was becoming like an episode of Blackadder and I was the only voter in a rotten borough. I went to the desk and gave my name, then got handed a white bit of paper to vote for a party in my constituency and then a yellow bit of paper to vote for up to three councillors. I was confused. Who were these councillors? There had been nothing on the leaflets through my door about them, and none of Brown, Cameron or Clegg had told me what my councillor could do for me. I decided whichever party I was going to vote for in my constituency, I would also vote for as my councillors. I mean, they all stand for the same thing really don’t they?

I turned to look for my booth where I could go and cast my secret vote. This was a big moment, it only comes around every five years, so I wanted something special. Instead I got a right angle metal ledge to lean on and cast my vote in full view of anyone else in there. The fact that no one else was in there is besides the point. I think a fly might have spied on me. So I marked the bits of paper and went over to the ominous black ballot boxes to place them inside. This was it. Once they were in there my decision was final. I got the yellow councillor slip in there no problem. Then my constituency vote, the one for the Nation. Only it didn’t fit in the slot. I couldn’t believe it. I tried a different angle, but no, the paper was too wide to fit in the slot. I know you may think this is petty, many will ask why didn’t I just fold it and leave. But I was stunned. How could I have been given a slip to make a vote for something so important and it not fit in the slot? It was almost a barrier between me and democracy. And with hindsight I should have folded it. I should have folded it, placed it inside, and walked away. But I didn’t. I jammed the paper in. If I was going to cast my vote I was going to cast it my way. What followed was the ballot box almost falling over, my hand becoming momentarily jammed in the slot, a rather crumpled voting slip eventually disappearing from view and a rather frustrated Gent.

I walked out, avoiding eye contact with the people on the desk, who I knew were looking at my disapprovingly. If I’d been there, I’d have been looking disapprovingly at myself. At the door, the Green Party man stopped me again, insisting I told him my voter number. I did, rather begrudgingly, resisting the urge to tell him where to stick his recycling plan. I walked away annoyed, annoyed with myself and with the bloody ballot box. But since then I’ve got to thinking about how to make voting more attractive and more up-t0-date for today’s society. We all know electoral reform is needed, so how about these recommendations to spice it up a bit?

  1. Booths: Rather than a meager thin shelf of metal to lean on to cast my vote, why can’t we have a full booth, complete with curtain? I’m thinking something between the passport photo booth and the clothes shop changing room. I want to step in, draw the curtain, and be alone with my vote. Just for a minute, before I say goodbye.
  2. Voting Methods: At the moment we get a slip of paper, mark an X next to a name, put it in a box, and that’s about it. But surely we can make it more exciting? I think we should have a list of names on a display in front of us, all lit in their own coloured light, and a big button next to each name. You simply press the button and lights flash around the display and a little voice says ‘computing’, before declaring ‘your vote has been cast, thank you’. If we can make it more like an arcade game, I think more people would vote.
  3. Raising the Turnout: I think it would be fair to say that voting alone is not enough for some people. They need more to draw them in, make it worth their while. I know that deciding the future of the country should be enough, but to some it’s not. So why not, after placing your vote, you pull a lever on the side, and you stand a chance to win a prize. Maybe every millionth voter wins a grand? The odds aren’t great, but I bet you’d see 10% more turnout.
  4. The Way We Vote: OK so this might be the grandest idea of the lot, but to get more people to vote, and to make it easier for everyone, why not vote by text? Just text vote, followed by your voter number and the name of the party you’re voting for. Couldn’t be simpler. While we’re here, let’s throw in the red button option too. Ant & Dec could present it, maybe the leaders could each sing and Simon Cowell could give his opinion…

This post was by The Gent. You can follow him on Twitter: @The__Gent


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