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Wednesday 22 June 2016

Brexit/Bremain >>> VOTE!

There was heated debate over whether or not we should even cast a vote during the general election:
Futures Forum: VOTE!
Futures Forum: DON'T VOTE!
Futures Forum: VOTE/DON'T VOTE: politicians and psychopaths...

However, there has been a drive to get people to register - and to vote - in the EU referendum.

Especially with young people:
This is what 15 students have to say about the EU Referendum – The National Student

Dear young people: here’s why you need to vote in the EU referendum



What will you be doing on June 23 this year? Perhaps you’ll be packing your tent and donning your wellies, ready for the start of Glastonbury. Or maybe you’ll be celebrating the end of your A Levels, or preparing to graduate. Otherwise, you may just be taking it easy, slipping into the long summer vacation.
But of course, June 23 is also the date when voters will make one of the most important decisions of their lives: whether they think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union, or leave. The campaigns offer two very different visions for the future: one where the UK has access to a single market and shared decision-making in a reformed EU, and one where the nation has greater control over its own rules.
I’m guessing most of you didn’t bother with the recent police and crime commissioner elections. Londoners will perhaps have voted to choose a new mayor. But no poll – not even a general election – will have such a profound effect on this country’s future as the EU referendum: especially for young people, who will have the longest to live with the consequences.
Yet survey evidence shows that 18 to 24-year-olds are the least likely citizens to be registered to vote – let alone actually go to the polls.
The problem has been made worse by a recent rule change on voter registration. Once, universities and colleges could register all of their students to vote en masse. Now, students (or their families) have to register themselves – an extra task to fit in alongside busy exam schedules and last-minute essay writing. And even those who have registered might encounter problems: according to a new pollcommissioned by Universities UK, only 56% of students who are registered at their term-time address say they are likely to be there when the referendum takes place. This means that they need to get a postal vote – another demand on their time.

Bad timing

The timing for the EU referendum could not be worse. High summer is inevitably accompanied by a range of attractions and distractions, each seemingly more important for an individual than a vote on the future of the UK in or out of Europe. If survey evidence, cited by the Guardian, is correct, just over half of people aged 18 to 34 years old (52%) said they were certain to go out and vote. And only 43% of 18 to 24-year-olds actually voted in the 2015 general election.
Research from the Electoral Reform Society suggests that the EU referendum campaign has not engaged young people. Only 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds say they are “very interested” in the EU referendum, compared with 47% of those aged over 65.
Dear young people: here's why you need to vote in the EU referendum

But the message seems to be:

Whatever your views on the EU, just make sure to cast your vote


By Alf McCreary

PUBLISHED18/06/2016

However, I am certain the Archbishop of Canterbury was correct when he advised people to vote, either way. A decision not to vote, because you are not sure which way to go, is a pure cop-out.
So take courage, and cast your vote on one of the most important political decisions you will take in your lifetime.

Whatever your views on the EU, just make sure to cast your vote - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

And:


EU - we know it's a big decision...but can't be sure why

I know how Boris Johnson and Michael Gove want me to vote. I know how David Cameron and, for that matter, Jake Berry would like me to vote – the latter via a mass send out email which I saw the other week.

Rossendale Scribbler: EU - we know it's a big decision...but can't be sure why - Rossendale Free Press
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