Born in the United Kingdom to British parents I am a British Citizen (or a subject of her majesty – if you believe in that sort of thing…), and accordingly, once I reach the age of majority, I can exercise my right to vote in the United Kingdom. But for what exactly am I voting?
Residing in the United Kingdom, I have always been subject to the laws that govern the British Isles, and yet it was not until I turned 18 years of age that I was accorded the right to vote. This means that even if I disagree with any or all of the laws of the land – I can do nothing to change this whilst under the age of 18 years, since it is not until then that I can be accorded the right to vote. At the age of 18, I am able to cast a vote in the elections of the United Kingdom, however I am still (in all practical terms) unable to question the process itself. There is no facility within the democratic process of the United Kingdom which permits me; as a British Citizen, to politically register my dissatisfaction with the current democratic processes used to govern the land in which I live.
Since there is no form of redress, accountability or removal of power from the government between elections, I will ignore the options available to me outside of election time – they hold no guarantee of response and are thus not democratic powers; I will concentrate rather on the electoral process itself. At the time of an election, I have the right to either:
- Vote (for one of the candidates within my constituency)
- Spoil my Ballot Paper
- Not Vote (either as a registered or un-registered voter)
Which of these options permits me to register my disapproval of the process into which I am bound? How can I indicate that as a citizen of the United Kingdom and as a voter, I am not satisfied with this system of ‘democracy’?
If I vote, then I engage in the current process of voting, and can perhaps be considered to validate this process through my participation. As a voter, I have a ‘voice’ in the same way as other voters have a voice, but I (like them) can only choose between the options provided, I cannot change the options and without a ‘None of the Above’ option, I have no mechanism by which I can object to the process itself.
If I spoil my ballot, I also participate in the process of which I disapprove, however I am counted as a spoiled ballot paper; a category which holds no political weight in the election process, and therefore does not per se contribute to the result. This option denies me both the principled position of not validating the current process, and the chance to express my political opinions.
If I refuse to vote – either from the perspective of a Registered or Un-Registered Voter, then I perhaps maintain my principled position of refusing to participate in the current process, however I lose all political voice, and my refusal to vote will be categorised simply as a non-vote.
Where then in all of this, is my chance to indicate that I do not approve of this management system, and that I do not authorise any of these representatives to govern on my behalf? In the last general election in the United Kingdom some 34% of eligible voters did not vote. Fully a third of people for one reason or another did not vote. It is of course entirely possible that all of this 34% did not vote because they forgot, were too late or couldn’t choose between the candidates; yet it is also possible that this 34% are protesting at the unfair and undemocratic system which is in place in the country. Yet without the introduction of this measure, we can never know.
How many people does it take to not vote before the system itself is questioned? When a third of the eligible voters do not participate, does this not send a message to the political parties that there is something very wrong with this process? How many absentees will it take to enable us to question the legitimacy of this process? If our political process denies us the chance to say STOP – this process doesn’t work for me, then we will continue forever down this road of ‘we do it because we always have’.
Ultimately, for as long as people participate, then the system is validated. It is easy to stand back and say “Those who do not participate do so because they obviously have no interest in the political world.” It is easy to say anything without proving it (as you can see from this piece itself!!). But to blame the electorate for not participating is perhaps not the answer, perhaps the answer is to seek to implement a system which will engage them better, or even simply a system which will better allow them to engage! There are many who do engage in the political system today, but are they participating because they believe in the process? Or are the participating because they have no choice?
I don’t know about you, but I want choice, and what I want to choose is democracy! If it is not on offer, then I will not take Hobson’s choice.