UNDERSTANDING OR VOTING SYSTEM
By Frances Corr

When you go to cast your vote on June 11th you will not be able to destroy your vote either to protest or by mistake. This is because you will be voting electronically.

A number of spoiled votes traditionally occurred which caused the ballot paper to be rejected because the voter had accidentally given a number of candidates identical preference.

If this occurs in the new system of electronic voting, the screen will close and you will be requested to recommence your vote from your first preference on.

Why it is important that the voter indicates clearly their preference is based on the system of voting we have in the Republic of Ireland. The system is called proportional representation (PR) and it is based on the theory that once a candidate reaches the quota they are deemed elected.

All their votes which still have to be counted are deemed surplus votes and they are transferred to the candidates who are given the second preference by the voter, this is called Single Transferable Vote (STV).

This system enables the voter to indicate their first, second and subsequent choice of candidates. The voter indicates their choice by placing 1 opposite the name of their first choice and 2 opposite the name of their second choice 3 opposite their third choice and so on. A voter may stop after 1 or any subsequent preference or may continue to give a preference to all candidates, with the candidate of least choice coming last.

The quota is the maximum vote a candidate needs to be deemed elected. The quota is calculated by getting the total vote on the day in the constituency and dividing it by the number of seats in the constituency plus one.

In a three seat constituency such as the South East City, where the total vote on the day was 28,000, a candidate would need 28,000 divided by three plus one which equals 7,001.

Remember the exact number of votes will not be known until after the closing of the polling booths on Election Day. Therefore, the larger the turnout of voters on the day the higher the quota will be for the candidates to achieve. A candidate may be deemed elected without reaching the quota; this is due to the spread of the voters' preferences amongst all the candidates.

The system may seem very complicated, but it will all be calculated electronically and the only thing you have to do on the day is push the buttons, and it is not often the ordinary punter gets the chance to push the politicians' buttons!


VOTER TURNOUT
By John Hobson


Are you registered to vote? Will you exercise your democratic right to vote? If your answer to both these questions is yes then you are in a minority! In the last local elections approximately 35% of the people eligible to vote in our constituencies did so.

Unfortunately, this is not just a local trend and in the last few elections and referendums voter turnout in the whole country has been very low, in fact we have some of the lowest voter turnout figures in Europe.

1997 Presidential election turnout at 46.8% was the lowest ever, 1999 local election turnout at 50.25% was the lowest ever. 2002 general election turnout at 62% was the lowest ever

When a large section of the population do not or cannot take part in the democratic process, that process cannot claim to be fully representative. If large portions of the electorate are not exercising their democratic rights, there is a possibility that their needs will be neglected. This can come about as a result of candidates and parties concentrating their efforts on those groups who are more likely to vote, resulting in the further alienation of those non-participating groups from the democratic process.

Unless the trend of decreasing voter turnout, especially among the younger population, is tackled, society risks creating an alienated and apathetic generation who may never vote. So make sure your voice is heard and help make a difference by using your vote.

By John Hobson

 

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