Government & Politics AS (Mr Ryan)

VOTING PARTICIPATION.

• The term voter turnout means the amount of people that have voted e.g. the voter turnout for the 2010 general election was 65.1%. 

Reasons for and for a lack of participation.

• People under 35 don't vote as much because the subjects in which the parties discuss aren't relevant to them. studies from sources say that if the candidates policies promised to tackle climate change then they would be more willing to vote.
  • PEOPLE UNDER 35 DON'T VOTE BECAUSE THE CANDIDATES POLICIES ARE NOT RELEVANT TO THEM.
• Unable to get to polling stations, studies from sources say that councils are making it easier by putting polling stations in supermarkets and sending voting slips through the post, however, these are yet to come into action, so in 2010's general election people may not have had the means.
  • PEOPLE ARE UNABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO A POLLING STATION. (THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED).
• Gender. Men are more likely to vote, this could be down to tradition or maybe the fact that men see it as a matter of power.
  • MALES ARE MORE LIKELY TO VOTE THAN WOMEN.
•  Race. There was a high turnout of Jewish votes and a low turn out of afro-Caribbean votes in the 2001 general election, this could be due to religious views or economic status.
  • JEWS ARE MORE LIKELY TO VOTE THAN AFRO-CARIBBEAN.
• Partisan alignment. People tend to vote with a family influence, as they have been heavily influenced by their family in upbringing. However, there has been a beginning of partisan de-alignment in more recent years.
  • PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO VOTE THE SAME AS THEIR FAMILY.
• Social class. The association of money with higher education and the assumption that people with less money have poor education. This may mean that the lower classes a less likely to have any interest in politics.
  • MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASS ARE MORE LIKELY TO VOTE DUE TO HIGHER EDUCATION.
• Lack of choice. People feel that the candidates given as choices are too similar, they all have very similar policies. So they feel feel that it doesn't matter which one they vote for as each party will bring the same outcome.
  • PEOPLE FEEL THE PARTIES ON OFFER ARE TOO SIMILAR.
• Media and party image. Voter's are now more open to media influence and they are more likely to vote on their judgement of the parties and politicians reputation in the media, and as the public tend to be more interested in scandals, then this is what the media writes about. Party image tells the voters what they are like and what they get up to, this can sway the voter's.
  • THE MEDIA INFLUENCES THE ELECTORATE AND PORTRAYS THE POLITICIANS/PARTIES IN A BAD LIGHT.
• Lack of vision. Many people believe that these days, parties are mainly focused on getting elected into power, not for the welfare of the country but for the job. It believed that they lack passion and vision for change in the country.
  • POLITICIANS ONLY WANT TO GET INTO POWER…