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Friday Doesn’t Work for Polling but Saturday Does
Read more about: Blogging, Democracy, Government, Irish Election, Irish Politics, Petitions, Polls, Vote Saturday 
Update: We gotta button – thanks Frank!!
As we know at this stage, the Taoiseach doesn’t really like Friday for voting. That is why we started the petition to get a weekend election going. However it seems that Saturday’s are quite popular with the government before now: Good stuff Ryano for picking up this beauty from Mary Hanafin in 2002 before the Nice Referendum;
“The Government’s decision to hold the Nice Treaty referendum on a Saturday will make it far easier for those studying and working away from home to have their say on the enlargement of the EU,” local Fianna Fail T.D. and Government Chief Whip, Mary Hanafin said today (Friday, 20th September 2002).
That is good but I may have gone one better. Check out this interview with RTE (watch the first minute) from the Taoiseach himself before the second Nice Treaty vote in 2002.
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
And as 32.9% voted in Nice 1 and 48.45% the second time around looks the Saturday got more voters.
Yeah and turnout for the second treaty was 50% while the first one was 34%.
Its works.
Saturday also had the advantage of limiting the potential for a certain smaller “democratically challenged” party to organise voter fraud by getting members of their college branch to vote twice. Once in the college constituency in the morning and again in their “home” constituency in the evening after the bus drops them off.
Surely the government should be doing all it can to encourage people to vote rather than putting barriers in the way of a section of the electorate. Well done on the petition.
It’s not a barrier. People should get up off their asses and register in their actual 5-6 day a week constituency and not one they spend one weekend night in.
cf, if you’re referring to students then you should know that the legislation requires a person to register in the place that their are normally resident at on a date in early September the 15th I think but it could be earlier. A day when most if not all third level students are normally resident at home. UCD and USI were pulled up on a related issue during their voter registration drive.
You post seems to be suggesting that the Government will not try to pick a day wthat will give most people a chance to vote. The fact is that they have said that they have tried Fridays and Saturdays in the past and voter turnout was not greatly different due to the fact a lot of people leave cities on weekends. Now while Saturday may help students returning home vote it may not assist others,as being the middle of the weekend people may be away. If you are going to petition for a day pick Sunday. Sunday is a day when ,ost people dont work and for people awaty for the weekend they can return and vote in the evening and for students they will also be at home and can vote in the morning.
voting in locals 2004 Friday was up 20% on locals 1999 Thursday.
Nice 2 was up on Nice 1
Where is the evidence that Friday and Saturday didn’t work? Bar the Taoiseach mistaking dubs who have been forced out of the city and into the surrounding counties to live for holidaymakers.
nice 2 was a Saturday
I agree with Dan and MacDara, my own feeling is if Friday doesnt work then Thursday is much worse. Sunday would be ideal but i feel in this country its too easy to hide behind a religious objection and that would be that. By keeping options open we can exert more pressure over time.
I would prefer a sunday, as i allude to in a post elsewhere it has a statistically obvious increase in turnout if elections are held on a sunday.
Also as one wag on p.ie suggested a depressed turnout only benefits FF as they have the strongest core vote.
You could also make voting day a bank holiday. Schools used as polling places will already be closed, for example.
It would be a bit awkward for people to get down the country to vote and then back to work/study/whatever. But at least they’d have a chance.
And it wouldn’t (necessarily) encourage people to head away for a long weekend – which seems to be something used against Friday voting.
Better yet make polling day a Friday AND a bank holiday – a long weekend as a reward for your participation in the democratic process and so on and so forth
Here’s an Idea. Why don’t we hold elections over a month so that everyone (Students, workers, holiday makers, lazy gits etc) can have a fair opportunity to vote. We could even supply taxis to ferry them to and from the polling booth. Why not supply an airport style moving walkway to bring them from the taxi to the voting box. We could even hire a couple of Latvians to fill out the ballot for them in case they tired themselves out lifting the pencil.
Get up off your fat lazy arses and go vote! It is ONE day in five years that you are expected to show up and have your say in the running of the country. Stop looking for excuses for apathy and laziness.
I would make it a offence not to vote and to hell with day of the week it is. If you have to take a day’s holiday to travel across the country and vote then you were too stupid to register in the proper place you should be voting like CF said. As for this September 15th cutoff for students well there is a supplementary register but again people are too lazy to take an hour and make sure they get on it.
Listen john, its not just students. Huge numbers of people have put a massive effort into the celtic tiger over the last five years. They spend hours in cars and many of this government’s decisions on schools, hospitals, tax and transport affect them.
Sure we could all “get off our arses” cos all of us spend so much time on em. Or, perhaps we could hold an election on a day that is proven to increase turnout 5%-8%. One which is maximally placed to allow people get to the polls. One which doesnt require polling booths from 6:30 to 22:00.
I have spent roughly 60% of the five years of this goverment in the constituency of Kerry North and 35% in Dublin. I have no intention of re-registering since I may choose to move back and work. I dont feel that this should have any bearing on my choice of constituency anyway but there you go.
Over 150,000 people attend third level and mid-may is exam time. There is alot of quotas there and an unnecessary choice between one’s degree and an election.
Countless hundreds of thousands spend their days commuting and working contributing the taxes this government spends. A sunday vote cuts all this mess and nonesense out in one swoop by making the right to vote maximally available to citizens.
Also don’t forget that as so many polling booths are in schools, Saturday polling does not involve forcing so many school children to lose a day of schooling and parents having to deal with that
What are you all whinging about. Half you won’t even vote but you like blowing on about democracy, fairness, etc. Bollox! You should consider yourself lucky you can vote at all. If it’s that important to you you’ll make the effort no matter what day the election is held on.
Simon and Cian have dared to question the wisdom of Bertie. Shocking.