Letter to Barry Andrews TD

I sent the following Email to Barry Andrews. After he released a press release today. Barry Andrews TD urges young people to Rock The Vote today

Dear Mr Andrews

I note on the Fianna Fail site that you are urging the youth of Ireland to rock the vote i.e getting more young people to vote. This is indeed a noble aim. However your party leader has stated that he wants to have the election on a Thursday. Which would seriously disadvantage the youth as many of them are away from their constituencies on a Thursday and will not be able to vote. Much research has been done on weekend voting all showing that weekend voting increases the turnout. Indeed your leader was very much in favour of weekend polling for the second nice referendum. Indeed speaking to RTE. he said

Interviewer: Why did you pick Saturday as polling day?
Taoiseach: The view of the government…was we should give Saturday a chance…We have never done that in this country so hopefully we can maximise a very high vote. There is a lot of third level institutions in this country now and Saturday brings them home. there is a lot of other people around the country working all week and Saturday will bring them home to their constituencies
Interviewer: Isn’t that a risk with so much apathy?
Taoiseach: This should help them, young people particularly the students unions and others have said they need to be facilitated…by going on a Saturday it gives them an opportunity to turn out

So if that was deemed necessary to facilitate them then why not now. With all due respect having the election on a Saturday would do far more to “rock the vote” then issuing random press releases to seem in effect to be encouraging youth participation in the next election. When in fact your party is doing the exact opposite. We on Irishelection.com have started a petition for Saturday voting that has already got over 500 signatures, including many politicians.  Such as Trevor Sargent, Ciaran Cuffe and Dan Boyle (Green Party), Pat Rabbitte, Ruairi Quinn and Eamon Gilmore (Labour), Caoimhighn O Caolain, Arthur Morgan and Aengus O Snodaigh (Sinn Fein), Michael Ring, Simon Coveney and Tom Hayes (Fine Gael) and Finian McGrath. Will you do something to actually try to “rock the vote” and sign the petition and support weekend polling or will you do nothing.

Petition Here
http://www.petitiononline.com/Thursno/petition.html

Regards etc

If he replies I will let you know.