Jamaica urged to boost voter turnout

By: Editorial

Image caption: Dr Basil Wilson, provost emeritus at John Jay College in the United States.

With voter turnout in yesterday’s general election falling below the 50 per cent mark, a suggestion is being put forward to stagger voting days in an effort to get more Jamaicans interested in the election process.

Dr Basil Wilson, provost emeritus at John Jay College in the United States, was speaking with The Gleaner yesterday on how to increase voter turnout for Jamaican elections.

Wilson said that in the same way that a special day is set aside for security personnel and election workers to vote, consideration should be given to having other Jamaicans vote on different days.

“I would suggest that the elderly and disabled could vote on a particular day, while other voters would vote over two days, preferably on the weekend – Saturday and Sunday,” he said.

According to Wilson, because everyone votes on the same day, the process is slow and some people leave because they do not want to wait in line for too long.

“This affects voter turnout, so by staggering the voting days, Jamaica could possibly see an increase in voter participation.”

He also suggested that Jamaicans could do early voting, as this would also ease congestion at polling stations.

He further stated that weekend voting would not conflict with work and, further, Jamaica should make election day a public holiday.

“I believe that by doing these changes, voter turnout could be boosted,” he said.

Wilson said, however, that he would not recommend online voting as he did not believe such a proposal would have the desired impact in Jamaica.

“Online voting becomes complicated and could lead to questions about the authenticity of the election,” Wilson said.

Pointing out that voter turnout in Eastern Caribbean countries and Guyana hover over 70 per cent, he noted that only Jamaica seems to be suffering from voter apathy.

AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION

Wilson has further suggested that Jamaica should adopt automatic voter registration to increase the pool of voters.

“When someone gets or renews a driver’ licence, or does business at the tax office, they are automatically enumerated at that time,” he said.

This way, he explained, voter registration would be ongoing and the number of voters would be boosted, as it would be easier for them to be registered to vote.

“We need to make it easier for people to vote, and automatic registration is one way of achieving this,” said Wilson.

Pointing out that a low voter turnout is not good for democracy, he said Jamaica should not be having turnouts below 50 per cent.

“Jamaica needs to find a way to deal with that kind of apathy. The country needs to find a way for participation in the electoral process by more Jamaicans. Many people are not participating because they feel excluded,” he said.

Wilson further suggested that ongoing political education in the form of community meetings where policy issues are discussed, would be another way to boost participation in the process.

He opined that many people do not feel that the policies are important to their well-being, stating further that manifestos should not only be issued at election time, but should form the basis for ongoing discussions on policy matters.

Regarding young people not participating in the election process, Wilson is of the view that they are not listening, and they feel that the policies are not geared to them.

“Jamaica has to find a way to integrate young people in policy discussions on education and housing, among other topics, if the country is to get them participating in the process,” he said.

According to Wilson, there is an affordability problem among young people in Jamaica, and so they are not tuning into the process.

Pollster Don Anderson, speaking with The Gleaner last night, said he felt voter turnout was impacted by factors such as the slow process of voting, rain in some areas, and a general exaggeration of intent claims.

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