Further to the letter in your April issue regarding voter apathy, I hope you will publish my suggestion. It would be fascinating to know your readers reaction.
I believe the unused vote should be counted as a vote for the incumbent. The law should be changed to presume the stay-at-home voter has nothing to complain about and is happy with the status quo. Simply add the abstentions in favour of the incumbents. Compulsory voting by default.
Such a proposal would inevitably attract a howl of protest, not least from those who say it is their democratic right to abstain. But I suggest the justification is obvious. Apart from the fact that it would not cost a penny piece to implement, it is very easily understood. Anyone seriously objecting to the change should be sufficiently motivated to partake in the democratic process. By contrast, it is unlikely to attract many complaints from those who habitually couldn’t care less. Indeed it is not unreasonable to presume if they did vote they would vote for no change.
Inevitably, some will say, the objectors would simply vote for the so-called lunatic fringe parties as a protest. I disagree. In order to cast their vote for one of those parties they would need to find out who they are, thereby engaging in the democratic process and, by extension demonstrating that they do care who gets their vote. Only a tiny minority would waste their vote in that way. The very least this measure would achieve is to increase the turnout.
Colin Peter Wildman, Bournemouth
