Thread: THE "SERVICE VOTING" STICKY (2005-2009)

Polling cards failed to arrive as usual! Think this is a perpetual theme rather than a Service Voter issue.

Also issue is that you don't need a polling card to voite, nor do you need proof of address to vote. So in theory I could 'get' a polling card and then 'vote' on someone else's behalf. Easy given that polling cards are not in envelopes and they could be picked up by anyone (District COuncil said there was no mandate to do it ... and no money - what is more important: protecting everyone's right to vote or cost (ne thinks it might be cost!)). Needs to change and I will be writing to my MP to waste my time as nothing will change!

GBTD

Article in this month's Soldier Magazine on voting - a good article: LINKY

A few lines:

Those overseas, especially those in isolated detachments or far flung places, are not so lucky. Ballot papers in the English system are only produced 11 days before an election and so trying to get them through the BFPO system, filled in and returned in time is nigh on impossible.

There is some sympathy for our plight within the MoD and the wider Government. But there seems to be an inability to actually enable those who have created democracy for citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan to exercise their own democratic right as freely and easily.

GBTD

Many thanks GTBD for that excellent article by Julie McCarthy of the Army Families Federation.

Ministerial Written Answer yesterday, indicating there is still more work to be done, especially with a General Election in the offing:

Written Ministerial Statements
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Defence
Service Voter Registration

Kevan Jones (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Defence; North Durham, Labour)

I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of the report of a survey on service voter registration conducted by Defence Analytical Services and Advice in November 2008.

The MOD has continued to work with the Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Justice to improve awareness among our armed forces personnel and their families of their options on registering to vote. This survey was undertaken to provide an estimate of the numbers of service personnel who are currently registered to vote and to draw comparison with the results of similar surveys carried out in each of the previous three years. These surveys help us to judge how best to encourage service personnel to register in future.

I welcome the survey, as it provides the facts needed to refine future work. It indicates that 65 per cent. of service personnel are currently registered, compared with 69 per cent. in 2007 (a decrease that is assessed as not statistically significant), 63 per cent. in 2006 and 60 per cent. in 2005. Of those registered in 2008, the majority (75 per cent.) chose to register as ordinary rather than service voters. The level of voters registered as overseas voters has remained at 1 per cent.

We acknowledge that there is still work to be done. The results of the survey will help to indicate where our efforts should be concentrated for the future. By continuing to work closely with colleagues in the MOJ [Ministry of Justice] and the EC [Electoral Commission] to understand what might be the reasons behind the results, we hope to make further improvements to the quality of information available to our service personnel and their families. We remain committed to improving arrangements for the service community to exercise their right to vote.

web source - theyworkforyou.com

Originally Posted by ViroBono

They manage to do it with TV Licencing easily enough, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I agree but then I believe that there should be compulsary voting!

Hackle,

Good piece of info from Kevan Jones but it proves that more members of the Armed Forces need to register to vote (in the absence of compulsary voting). How else can they they have a say in who sends them to war???

Editted due to fat fingers!

GBTD

From a parliamentary written answer, 20 July. It largely restates the earlier info from defence minister Kevan Jones MP. One interesting figure is the end-2008 number for the number of eligible voters (regular service personnel and their partners) who have chosen to register by service declaration rather than as ordinary voters - only 21,928.

Electorate
Justice
Written answers and statements, 20 July 2009

Francis Maude (Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cabinet Office; Horsham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) armed forces personnel and (b) members of the public who are registered to vote.

* Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 20 July 2009, c1068W)

Michael Wills (Minister of State, Ministry of Justice; North Swindon, Labour)

No assessment has been made of the proportion of (a) armed forces personnel and (b) members of the public who are registered to vote. This is because the Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not have information on the proportion of the public who are registered to vote, as not everyone who is usually resident is entitled to vote. The total number of full-time armed forces personnel at 1 May 2009 was 194,280.

ONS figures reveal that as of 1 December 2008 the number of armed forces personnel who registered by way of a service declaration was 21,928. Not all armed forces electors, however, register as service voters. They may either register as an ordinary elector, an overseas elector or a service elector. The Ministry of Defence Service Voting Survey 2008 indicates that 75 per cent. of respondents were registered as ordinary voters.

The Government are keen to support armed forces personnel in registering to vote. In order to increase service registration rates, the Government have recently announced that we will increase the service voter declaration period from three years to five years, which we hope will encourage more service personnel to register. We aim to bring forward this change in secondary legislation as soon as possible.

The statistics for the proportion of members of the public registered are similarly difficult to calculate because ONS figures on total population do not show whether those people are eligible electors. ONS reports that the total number of local government electors registered in the UK on 1 December 2008 stood at 46,147,877.

Source - TheyWorkForYou.com

A new thread has been opened at Service Voting - Op STEEL VOTE 2010 for news, discussion and RFIs in relation to electoral participation in the General Election.

As far as possible I'd like to reserve THIS thread - the "Service Voting" sticky - for hard information and links which would-be voters might be looking for, such as:

AboutMyVote.co.uk homepage - from the Electoral Commission

AboutMyVote.co.uk - info for Armed Forces personnel, wives, husbands and civil partners

regards

Douglas Young ('hackle' - BAFF Chairman)

General Elections – Votes that count

Danish Soldiers...................Yes
Canadian soldiers................Yes
American soldiers................Yes
British soldiers................... No
French soldiers...................Yes
German soldiers..................Yes

If you think our British soldiers/sailors/airmen deployed in Afghanistan (and elsewhere overseas) should have a direct vote in the choice of those who govern them, sign the petition at:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ServiceVotes/

Service personnel and their families stationed overseas are effectively disenfranchised by our electoral system. They are advised by the Ministry of Defence to vote by proxy. Voting by secret ballot in person in the UK is not an option for most overseas personnel. Postal votes are, because of electoral tight time scales and logistical challenges, unlikely to get back in time to count. Other nations are able to provide their military community, serving abroad, with effective secret ballots. It is now time for our Government to provide the same opportunities for the British Service communities overseas.

Originally Posted by votes4all

General Elections – Votes that count

Danish Soldiers...................Yes
Canadian soldiers................Yes
American soldiers................Yes
British soldiers................... No
French soldiers...................Yes
German soldiers..................Yes

If you think our British soldiers/sailors/airmen deployed in Afghanistan (and elsewhere overseas) should have a direct vote in the choice of those who govern them, sign the petition at:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ServiceVotes/

Service personnel and their families stationed overseas are effectively disenfranchised by our electoral system. They are advised by the Ministry of Defence to vote by proxy. Voting by secret ballot in person in the UK is not an option for most overseas personnel. Postal votes are, because of electoral tight time scales and logistical challenges, unlikely to get back in time to count. Other nations are able to provide their military community, serving abroad, with effective secret ballots. It is now time for our Government to provide the same opportunities for the British Service communities overseas.

Signed. This link might also be of interest.

A word to the wise -

Election news

A UK parliamentary general election will be held on 6 May 2010. The deadline to register to vote or apply for a postal vote has now passed.

Ref: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/


lf you have a vote, use it & use it wisely.....

Originally Posted by Sir_General_Jackarson

A word to the wise -

Election news

A UK parliamentary general election will be held on 6 May 2010. The deadline to register to vote or apply for a postal vote has now passed.

Ref: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/

lf you have a vote, use it & use it wisely.....

Thanks! To avoid duplication or people looking for info in the wrong thread, please go to Service Voting - Op STEEL VOTE 2010 for more about service voting in the 2010 General Election.