Well this is my first general election where I can vote, so I can’t answer your questions.
That said I disagree that it has no effect as I’ve said already – it might not have a dramatic effect or at the best of times a very obvious one but to expect a single vote amongst millions to make the decision it in itself undemocratic – no-one should believe that they’re vote will decide fate but they should know that it contributes to decisions, especially in a PR system.

Any argument you make for voting is just appealing to abstractions that I can choose to reject. They just get away from the basic logical deduction that voting doesn’t change anything. And this doesn’t ignore the nuances of the PR system and it isn’t idiotic, it’s LOGIC.

You can choose to do that, and it’s your decision. I have no argument against people not voting as long as they’re doing it for a reason – rather than out of ignorance or laziness. I would only support a mandatory vote if we were given the “none of the above” option and I think such should be introduced anyway.
I don’t agree that a single vote has zero effect but if someone understands the PR system, as you do, and comes to that conclusion then that’s their own decision based on their own analysis.

You said much the same in the email you sent me the other day, Mary, so perhaps you can now explain what they are.

From my own first hand experience making people aware of polling day and their right to vote is just one small piece of the puzzle – trying to make voting look cool is also a waste of time and counter productive.

Perhaps a more apt title would have been Cock the Vote.

A

“aping” the media isn’t a bad thing per se – as long as it’s well targeted and getting people interested in the issues is the most logical way of encouraging voting, so it serves that purpose too.

I think my examples are perfectly non-partisan. You can raise the issues that are effecting young people and say “what happens on polling day will effect you because…” or you could show each party’s proposals in the area and ask “what would you like to see happen?”.

You clearly don’t get my last point. There is no argument from self-interest for voting. Even if you believe that government policy affects you, one individual vote never counts. So to the self-interested individual there is no reason to vote. (Ok a ‘rock the vote’ ad claims that one vote decided something somewhere, but the chances of that are so remote it is negligible.)

No, I do, I just don’t agree with it.
Yes, a single vote actually deciding a seat is an extreme rarity but in the PR system a handful of votes can – I think I read that SF’s Nicky Kehoe missed out on a seat in 2002 by 74 votes, for example. That’s tiny when you consider the fact that 34,500 people voted in Dublin Central.
As I said before, you’d be an idiot to expect your vote alone to turn the tide but young people aren’t stupid. If it’s made clear just how often a small amount of votes can swing a result they’ll be able to see that their vote can make a direct contribution to an outcome.

You clearly don’t get my last point. There is no argument from self-interest for voting. Even if you believe that government policy affects you, one individual vote never counts. So to the self-interested individual there is no reason to vote. (Ok a ‘rock the vote’ ad claims that one vote decided something somewhere, but the chances of that are so remote it is negligible.)

Well disseminating the information in a non-partisan way is the job of the mainstream media on a daily basis – they do it to varying degrees but it can be done.
For example, why not have a short, snappy video which explains how anyone thinking of or hoping to buy a house in the next 5 years should pay attention to what’s being promised by the various parties as it could save they thousands? Same goes for anyone who wants broadband in their area. Or wants to be able to rely on their bus service (or wants a bus service). Or wants to get their full driver’s licence without waiting 50 weeks for the test. It’s a case of bridging the gap between what young people want and aspire to and what the political system can do in relation to that.
Another more detailed way would be to take an issue and explain what each party is promising in a way that is relevant to young people. Tell them party x’s proposal will mean they won’t pay tax on their part-time wages and so will come home with more money every week, while party y’s proposal will see them earn a higher minimum wage. One video could talk about transport, another tax, another crime etc.
It’s just about framing everything in the context of young people and showing them that it does have an effect.

On the second point, I can accept that you may find it patronising. There is no argument there but is it really aimed at you? Are you the person that they are trying to reach? I think the videos and websites and stuff are, well, mildly amusing at best, certainly not offensive.

Well I’m 22, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t be aimed at me. Sure, I’m already politically minded but even if I’m already the subscriber to an idea or product I can still feel the appeal of a well-made campaign. I might be sold on the message already, but it doesn’t mean I’m immune to hearing it again.

I stand my the point that arguing the ‘why’ of voting is a dead-end. People don’t raise the issue because you can’t argue against it.

Can’t argue against what? I’m not sure what you mean by this. Reasons for voting stretch way beyond the lack of impact people feel it has. From my own anecdotal experience people don’t vote because the politicians don’t speak to them or offer them something relevant.

One vote does count but the point is that as an individual when you ask yourself ‘does MY vote count?’ the answer is unequivocally NO. This more of a bald fact than an opinion.

That’s nothing resembling a fact. If voting matters as a whole then the individual vote itself matters too.
Naturally it would be foolish to imagine that one vote will tip the balance between one party or another, or one government or another (it has tipped the balance for individual seats in rare occourances though). That said each individual vote, especially in PR where every vote is counted, contributes to an overall result and pushes candidates and by extension parties in certain directions.
Anyone who thinks their vote will decide the election is deluded. Anyone who thinks their vote will have no impact whatsoever on the election is equally so.