Do you vote?

Nevyn

The thing is politicians know what areas have a high rate of actually going and voting and as a result will tend to do more for those areas so upper middle class estates get thier ramps and signage ect ect quicker then places where voting cards are never used.

Jesus Wept

No matter who you vote for, the government always wins.

Crumble Froo

quite an interesting topic. have only been able to vote in one election so far... but... didnt. was really pissed about it if it helps... thought i'd registered, but in the chaos of moving house, didnt register, and actually realised 15mins before the closing time to register. was really annoyed at myself, but still followed the election closely. my housemate, as it happened, would have been voting the same way as me, but actually got to the poll place only to realise that he wasnt on the list anymore. fortunately, she lost by a hundred or so, so we didnt feel too guilty about not voting, but were both annoyed that we hadnt prepared properly.

im not following the situation back home too closely at the mo at all.. i had been checking rte frequently, but not so much anymore... this is the first i've heard of this lisbon referendum, will have to check it out.

as far as general apathy goes... i feel my voice has very little, if any bearing on how the nation is run. but, at a local level, i definitely feel that my vote counts. for the politicians who actually campaign for improvements in my community, and who actually deal with them. the ones who arent elected to government, but are still involved in the groups concerned with improving our standard of living in our area. i feel that's the most important part...

elections coming up soon in nz, and though i wont be allowed to vote, im still following the coverage a good bit, it's quite interesting, and hell, this is my home now, so it's nice to know who's making what rules.

Ginny

I've voted everytime once I was eligable, and when Partick Ahern and the government made it difficult for me as a student to vote, I travelled back home just to vote.
I think its a huge privilege to be able to vote and I can't quite get my head around people not using their vote.
If its a case of not knowing the issue, then read up on it, its only going to take an hour at most and will be impacting your life and lives to come.

watna

RoseBlossom wrote: »

Bear with me...
During the French presidential vote last summer there was a lot of coverage of French nationals in Ireland voting in their embassy here. Many people asked why we could not do the same (elections were in the air!). I have lived abroad for varying lengths of time so I know what it is like to be abroad and still want to vote. However, I have relations who emigrated 40 years ago and return twice a decade for a fortnight's holiday. They are Irish citizens too. I remember an argument that said they should get the vote because the people who emigrated in the 50s and so on sent money back to help their families.

I would be interested to know what boardsies think of these questions:
1. Would you be happy if X votes from emigrants who have not lived in Ireland for many years, have not paid tax, have integrated in their new country, have no intention of returning to Ireland etc. changed the outcome of your local constituency election and thereby the constitution of the Government? Or even if they influenced the outcome of a referendum?
There is a difference between someone going abroad for a year and someone leaving for good. To take a long-decided topic, if you passionately believed in divorce, how would you feel if some anti-divorce Irish expats living in the US (who could get divorced there no problem) swung the Irish ballot against divorce? You would then have to live with this outcome (no divorce in Ireland) while they do not (divorce available in the US).

2. If votes were to be given to the Irish abroad, what should the requirements be, if any?
I'm thinking of things like signing a declaration that you have been out of the country for less than 5 years and intend to return to the country within the probable lifetime of the next Government (i.e. 5 years) (this would cover Erasmus students, year outs in Oz, workers posted/training abroad etc.).

3. What should they be allowed to vote for?
As far as I know, French expats may only vote in referenda and Presidential elections. How would the issue of local and general election constituencies be worked out when you are abroad? If Irish citizenship is the only requirement, how do you treat those who have Irish citizenship but have never lived in the Republic? I'm thinking of people born in the North who have Irish citizenship but might never have lived in a constituency in the Republic, as well as children of Irish citizens who have Irish citizenship themselves but might have spent their entire lives in another country.

Personally, I believe people leaving for a short period of time (less than five years) should have the possibility of getting a postal vote. I'm not convinced about longer-term expats who have new and full lives (and voting rights) in their new countries, and who may be completely out of touch with the mood of this country (especially regarding Referenda). I don't like the thought that people who will not have to live* with the outcome of the ballot can influence how I am governed or what Constitutional amendments are made. I am open to being persuaded though...

* I am not referring to people who die soon after the ballot!

I've actually been thinking about this, now that I've been disenfranchised! (ok, not really, but I am bitter, I presumed I would get a postal vote)

I do think there would have to be tight restrictions on it. There are a lot of Irish citizens around the world who are rarely here and it doesn't fully affect them, although some laws passed could affect their rights abroad etc.

The only way I could think of restricting it is if you had to prove you would more than likely be home in the lifetime of the government. i.e. if you had voted from abroad for the last election then you couldn't do it at the next one or if you could apply and explain you were having a year away/working abroad on business for a year etc. Or, as said above you could restrict the elections you can vote in. I'm not quite sure how it would work, it needs some thinking about. It is kind of complicated.

I did actually email my TD yesterday regarding this. If you think about it, it's ridiculous. My partner is not Irish, we're going to his home country for 1/2 years and then our intention is to come back and settle down. Over those two years I have no say in how things are run here, as I have no vote, but decisions made will affect my ability to come back and settle down (take house prices, stamp duty, the ecomony and jobs). I really am extremly annoyed about it.

I am so glad to see so many of you feel strongly about it. I'm lucky in that my close friends are very interested and always vote, we were hanging out yesterday and spent and hour talking about Bertie Ahern! But in my other experiences, a lot of women (and men) my age just have no interest - which I think is really sad.