The Wardman Wire

Voting: The chance for the people to vote for issues or politicians out of a desire to choose their own leaders and/or future.

Right?

Well, not under this government.

Instead, it has been reclassified as:

Voting: The opportunity to get into a prize draw to win a TV, iPod or supermarket voucher.

Voting is an essential part of the democratic process. Voting is about making a choice between several available options, and selecting the one who prefer [or at least dislike less] than the others.

Bribing people to turn up at the ballot box would not improve democracy. In fact, the very oppsoite - it will belittle it. Rather than a civic duty, it becomes another crass opportunity to get a prize.

Whilst taking part in the democratic process is not a rational choice - why bother when someone else will for you? - lowering it to the position of commercialism won’t help. Just like compulsory voting, it simply isn’t democratic.

It is a duty, right, and responsibility to vote. It shouldn’t be demeaned like this.

The only thing you should get for voting is the satisfaction of taking part in the process. Though we should get given stickers for it. That would be good.