Comments on: Friday Doesn’t Work for Polling but Saturday Does

By: “Register Where You Live, Lazy Students” at Irish Election

“Register Where You Live, Lazy Students” at Irish Election — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:38:58 +0000

[...] most regular criticism of the petition so far (here and elsewhere) and I just want to clarify a few points about [...]

By: Green Ink

Green Ink — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:31:11 +0000

Simon and Cian have dared to question the wisdom of Bertie. Shocking.

By: martin

martin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:02:25 +0000

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.

By: Simon

Simon — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:11:37 +0000

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

By: Cian

Cian — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:00:03 +0000

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.

By: JohnMac

JohnMac — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:52:14 +0000

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.

By: anonymoose

anonymoose — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:07:56 +0000

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

By: Cian

Cian — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:25:24 +0000

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.

By: Taoiseach Wrong on Thursday Poll at Irish Election

Taoiseach Wrong on Thursday Poll at Irish Election — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:16:07 +0000

[...] that time in an interview with RTE (available here http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/0919/6news/6news56_1c.ram ), the Taoiseach [...]

By: Dan Sullivan

Dan Sullivan — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:50:48 +0000

nice 2 was a Saturday