Sunday, July 02, 2023
Plaid Cymru's compulsory voting proposal is a blind alley
Why is it that when Plaid Cymru or Labour politicians feel that they need to get more attention, they resort to proposals that will either restrict individual choice or will seek to use legislation to compel people to act in a certain way?
The BBC reports that former Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price has proposed that voting in Senedd and local elections should be compulsory. He believes that this move could boost turnout, which has yet to top the 47% hit at the Senedd election in 2021.
He is supported in this by Counsel General Mick Antoniw who, speaking for the government, argued the idea was "well worth exploring".
Price told the BBC that he believed voters should still be able to abstain, possibly by marking a "none of the above" box, and that his policy could be enforced with fines, with some legitimate exemptions.
More ludicrously, he said that compulsory voting would mean Welsh voters would be "truly represented in the election system".
This is an electoral system being put forward by Labour and Plaid Cymru, where voters will no longer be able to choose the candidates who will represent them. Instead, they would be presented with a party list, chosen by a small number of activists, and would have to choose between these slates of political hacks, whose main skill is likely to be their ability to impress fellow party members.
Australia, which has compulsory voting, has a very high proportion of spoilt ballots. There is no evidence that their system has improved the quality of their political representation. In fact, from what I have seen their Parliament is a bear pit in which sexist baiting of the opposition is commonplace.
My view is that if politicians have to make voting compulsory, then both they and the political system have failed.
If they want to increase turnout then they need to give people something they actually want to vote for, not drag them kicking and screaming to the ballot box. Oh, and give them an actual choice of candidates.
If the grey mediocrity of the present Senedd is failing to inspire voters, then perhaps MSs need to be looking to themselves as part of the cause, and find a way to put that right.
The BBC reports that former Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price has proposed that voting in Senedd and local elections should be compulsory. He believes that this move could boost turnout, which has yet to top the 47% hit at the Senedd election in 2021.
He is supported in this by Counsel General Mick Antoniw who, speaking for the government, argued the idea was "well worth exploring".
Price told the BBC that he believed voters should still be able to abstain, possibly by marking a "none of the above" box, and that his policy could be enforced with fines, with some legitimate exemptions.
More ludicrously, he said that compulsory voting would mean Welsh voters would be "truly represented in the election system".
This is an electoral system being put forward by Labour and Plaid Cymru, where voters will no longer be able to choose the candidates who will represent them. Instead, they would be presented with a party list, chosen by a small number of activists, and would have to choose between these slates of political hacks, whose main skill is likely to be their ability to impress fellow party members.
Australia, which has compulsory voting, has a very high proportion of spoilt ballots. There is no evidence that their system has improved the quality of their political representation. In fact, from what I have seen their Parliament is a bear pit in which sexist baiting of the opposition is commonplace.
My view is that if politicians have to make voting compulsory, then both they and the political system have failed.
If they want to increase turnout then they need to give people something they actually want to vote for, not drag them kicking and screaming to the ballot box. Oh, and give them an actual choice of candidates.
If the grey mediocrity of the present Senedd is failing to inspire voters, then perhaps MSs need to be looking to themselves as part of the cause, and find a way to put that right.
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I see that Jac has woken up to the dangers of the Labour/Plaid scheme. He also quotes an ERS assessment that the scheme will not improve proportionality but may actually work against it.
As I understand it, the Senedd has approved it so that there is nothing to stop it going ahead unless our national parliament changes its mind. Or will Westminster seek to step in?
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As I understand it, the Senedd has approved it so that there is nothing to stop it going ahead unless our national parliament changes its mind. Or will Westminster seek to step in?
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