Forum Topic

Elections, why Thursday?

With the likelehood that the Apathy Party is going to win the forthcomIng Local Elections hands down, is it not time to look again at the possibility of holding them on a Sunday as is done in France. Maybe that would not have the desired effect, but who knows. At least people would in most cases not have the excuse of being 'too tired' etc having returned home to slump in front of the TV.Maybe its because most political animals like to retire to their 'Country Seats' on the Week-End afterwards to lick their wounds or sozzle themselves silly in triumph, without having to immediately 'clear their desks' on Monday. Or maybe Sunday is still considered taboo as an Election day, a last bastion of Religeous observance?

Colin Vaughan ● 6736d10 Comments

I think your last sentence is correct !

Viv Ellis ● 6736d

Aaah - electoral law, my favourite subject.The holding of polls on Thursdays has become an election convention. Since 1935 every UK Parliamentary general election has been held on a Thursday. However, local elections in England and Wales are required to be held on the first Thursday in May.  Under electoral law, elections can be held on any weekday except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday, a bank holiday or any day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning (whatever they are). Currently, elections cannot take place on Saturday or Sunday as these days are 'dies non' (or non-days for the purposes of computing the electoral timetable).The Government published a Green Paper 'The Governance of Britain' last year. In it, they announced that they wanted to consider further measures to make voting more convenient and would consult about the merits of moving polling day for general and/or local elections from Thursday to the weekend.So change could be on the agenda! But any change would of course need to take account of all the various religious objections, etc, etc.

Angus Peterson ● 6736d

France has computers, and I don't think they are any less religeous than us. I know, make it an EU directive then the 'Jobsworths' in Government will have to use Sunday like it or not!!!!!

Colin Vaughan ● 6736d

How about...1 Change voting to Sundays.2 Use CofE churches as polling stations as there are still lots around, open on Sundays anyway and easily accessible3 Only permit voting to those who have taken communion (this would be some way towards an identity check).  ;-)

Alan Brainsby ● 6736d

4 Disenfranchise stroppy bus driversI've just found out that when I go to vote on 1 May I will be instructed not to fold may ballot papers, as this will clog up Ken's newfangled electronic counting machines. This is an affront to ballot secrecy. It is also preposterous.

Angus Peterson ● 6736d

Why would Sunday be better?France btw is de jure secular. England is not.

Graham Weeks ● 6736d

If people want to vote, they will turn out whatever the time and the weather.  You can vote from 7am - 10pm.  Postal voting has never been easier.  If people aren't moved to vote, then changing the day to Thursday won't make any difference.

Barbara Yerolemou ● 6735d

sorry meant "changing the day to Sundays won't make a difference".

Barbara Yerolemou ● 6735d

I agree with Barbara; if people are too lazy to go to the polling station, they can vote by post. The truth is that they don't care enough.

Susan Kelly ● 6735d

Isn't part of the rationale that you vote Thursday, count from 2200 Thursday night - not all the results are in till mid Friday for a General Election - Northern Ireland being the worst I seem to remember from my BBC results editor days - so you then have the weekend to kiss hands, organise the cabinet and sort out the takeover of machinery of governmetn before being raring to go on Monday morning. Don't think it has anything to do with religion - except as far as traditionally it wouldn't be a Sunday for the Established Church. it's been on a Thursday before anyone thought of Fridays and Saturdays as someone's holy day.

Sara Nathan ● 6735d