Poking teenagers into bothering to vote

Tuesday 08 July 2014

A new leaflet is being sent to all schools and colleges in Jersey aimed at getting more teenagers to bother voting this autumn. As well as providing information on the electoral system, it specifially promotes Facebook and Twitter as a way of keeping them up to date with election news.

Islanders have been able to vote from the age of 16 since 2007 but it hasn't made much difference to voter apathy - turnout on election days is historically poor.

The leaflet has been produced by the Privileges and Procedures. Committee Chairman Deputy Jeremy Maçon said: “My Committee wants young people to have an understanding of the Island’s government system so that they can make an informed choice in October 2014 about who will represent them in the States Chamber for the next 4 years.

“We want to ensure that young people are aware that they are entitled to vote from the age of 16 and this leaflet outlines the registration process and also provides details of the voting system. We hope it will encourage young people to use their votes”.

Deputy Maçon hopes teenagers who are eligible to vote will also start using social media to follow news on the election.

He said: “We want everyone to use their votes in October when Islanders will be electing a new States Assembly. We hope that the Island’s younger voters will recognize that this autumn they also have the opportunity to determine who represents them in the States Chamber and who shapes the future of our Island.”

The leaflet is also available on www.vote.je - a new website launched earlier this year to try and engage more Islanders with the political process.

Islanders go to the polls on Wednesday 15 October.