Another point about living abroad is that you don’t need to lose your right to vote in the UK. An alarming number of Britons do not seem to know or care about this. Although approximately 6 million British people live overseas, only 20,000 of them, about a third of one percent, are registered to vote in British elections.
If you live abroad you still have the right to vote in UK national and European Union elections. You just need to apply to be a registered overseas voter. Note that registering as an overseas voter does not give you the right to participate in local elections, mayoral elections, or elections to any of the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. If you are living in another European Union country, you will be able to participate in local or EU elections there. However, you can only vote in EU elections in one country.
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To register as an overseas voter, you just need to download the application form from the www.AboutMyVote.co.uk website.
To be eligible, you must have been registered to vote in the UK prior to leaving, or, if you were below the voting age while in Britain, your parents or guardians must have been registered to vote instead. When applying from abroad, you will need to find another British citizen, one who is not a close relative, to witness your application form and sign it.
You should bear in mind that it does take some time for your application to be processed, so if you plan to register only at the last minute, you may be too late. To be safe, you should begin the registration process at least two months before an election is due to be held.
Once you have been registered you have two options about how to exercise your right to vote from overseas: by post or by proxy. You will need to fill in a separate application form for either of these two options, although this can be done on the same form in which you register to vote
overseas. If using the postal voting option, you will be sent a ballot seven days before an election takes place in Britain. You will have to return the ballot promptly and pay the postage yourself, for your vote to count. The voting by proxy option allows you to nominate someone else to vote on your behalf. This person should still be resident in the UK and entitled to vote there. Prior to each election, you are supposed to instruct the other person on how they should exercise your vote. Naturally, the proxy should be a person you trust. The proxy must be named on the application form you submit and can sign it but does not need to. When the election day comes, the proxy must vote at your local polling station. If this is not convenient, the proxy can also request to exercise your vote by post. Even if you are registered as an overseas voter, you can still exercise your right to vote in person if you happen to be in the UK on day of the election. Of course, this is only possible if your vote has not already been cast in one of the other ways. Maintaining your business network is an important consideration before you go to work abroad because it is very likely to affect your career prospects if or when you return to the UK. You may be thinking that you can slot back into an old job or do something that you’ve already lined up, but the fact is that your adventure abroad could open all sorts of new doors if you are open to the opportunity, it could also close others if you are not careful. It is all too easy to forget to e-mail people, or maybe you think that you will look desperate for keeping in touch. You may look a little desperate if you’re sending e-mails too regularly, especially if they are negative or needy in tone, but a weekly, fortnightly or monthly updates depending on your relationship with the recipient are fine. If you are e-mailing former colleagues that you are quite friendly with, keep the contents light without going on too much about the amazing time you’re having or you could just irritate them and they are unlikely to want to help you when you get back. What to put on social networking sites is a tricky question. So many people get caught out on Facebook for mixing business with pleasure. It’s fine to be ‘friends’ with colleagues if you only post relatively modest news, but as soon as you or someone else posts a compromising picture of you at a party or whatever, you look totally unprofessional. Before you go to work abroad, decide whether you’re going to use your Facebook account to keep in touch with friends or colleagues. Set up two accounts if you have to, or just post only the most gentle of pictures and comments. Twitter is another way to keep in touch with your network while working abroad as it is so immediate and has a good reputation as a networking tool. Again, don’t forget who will be reading your tweets. Just use it for linking to relevant stories, tweeting about the positive aspects of your adventures and passing on ideas. Setting up a blog to document your adventures and experiences of working abroad can lead to all sorts of interesting opportunities. A number of bloggers have found that their blogs become well-read, which gains interests from companies looking to exploit the marketing potential or even possible job offers. Decide on the theme or style of your blog though, don’t just blog about anything and everything. It could be about the restaurants you visit, or the experiences of being the only British person in the wilds of Slovenia, but keep the tags relevant and link to plenty of other blogs to keep your readership up. Working abroad will add an extra dimension to your CV, so it is important that you maximise the impact of your overseas experience.
only members of Church of England could vote in Ireland - Ireland was a big Catholic population so many were denied the right to vote
Evaluate the extent to which there is a democratic deficit in the UK (30) The UK political system is one that has lasted for many hundreds of years. Though it has remained reasonably stable throughout this time, there have been many problems with UK politics. A democratic deficit is defined as any situation in which there is believed to be a lack of democratic accountability and control over the decision-making process. Many would argue that the UK suffers from a democratic deficit.
Should America have compulsory voting? In my opinion, compulsory voting is a good way to increase the voting turnout. People currently don't like to vote because they don't have the time, or are just too lazy. If the government gives them an incentive then they will be happy to take time off to vote. Also, a reason to fear not to vote should be installed, like an annoying fine. When only a few people vote, the voter satisfaction is low. But when everyone puts their idea in, the satisfaction rises because the actual majority will win.
"There is a reason for the country to embrace mandatory voting, and it may be the most compelling: democracy cannot be strong if citizenship is weak," _William A. Galtson_. Mandatory voting, or compulsory voting, is a law wherein citizens are required to vote, or suffer the consequence. Australia has had compulsory voting since putting it into effect in 1924. "The turnout of Australian elections has never fallen below 90 percent since the introduction of compulsory voting in 1924," _Australian Electoral Commission_. Achieving over 90 percent of the citizens voting for nearly a century shows that mandatory voting is working in regard to getting people to vote. Governments should have mandatory voting because the people will educate themselves
There are a number of various ways that can be used in order to address the ever-growing problem of democratic deficit in the UK, which is based around factors such as the low participation rates and general apathy towards politics in the wider public.
As an American citizen do you think the government should enforce compulsory voting? A country usually needs three things to have a successful compulsory voting system, a national voter registration database, rewards to encourage voters, and punishing non-voters. Should americans be required to vote? There are three reasons why Americans should be required to vote, first, so citizens have interests and political knowledge, second, to increase amount of younger voters and finally, requiring people to vote is the least a citizen can do.
To enforce voting to be mandatory , this will prompt more Americans to pay attention to the choices for their representatives. Mandating would stimulate the demand side, motivating voters to understand and acknowledge who they are voting for. Therefore , voting is to be a responsibility than a option.
Even though as a lawful matter it is moderately simple to qualify and enroll to vote in Texas, the genuine example of voting in the state recommends critical boundaries, and maybe absence of adequate impetus, to voting. The necessities for voting in Texas are straightforward and few. To begin with, you should be a resident of the United States, no less than 18 years of age, and enlisted to vote. Additionally, you should be an inhabitant of Texas for no less than thirty days
As becoming the age of 18, people has the chance to start voting. People 18-24 have a lower percentage of voting than other ages. This is because the youth vote has changed over time and the reasons why the youth vote doesn’t want to vote. I will vote in the upcoming elections when I turn of
Dinkin, M., and White, I.2008. Voting system in UK. Library of House of Commons: Parliament and Constitution Centre. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/files/108_icpr_final.pdf (accessed November 20, 2010)
In America, political candidates go against one another in a process known as an election in which citizens vote for the next person who "best" fits the position. In addition, there are various amounts of debates on whether a citizen should be compelled to vote. Although some argue if citizens should be required by law to vote, there are exceeding an amount of disadvantages.
In recent years Great Britain has seen a rapid change in the participation in British General elections and has witnessed the stagnation of British voting behaviour in European elections. Statistics show that there has been nearly a 10% decrease in turnout for general elections since 1997; the electorate turnout in 1997 stood at 71.4% with the first election of Tony Blair. (UK Political Info). In 2001 the turnout hit a a major low at just 59.4% (the lowest recorded since 1918). From this point onwards the decrease in turnout re...
Have you ever been persuaded into voting? Well, you should have your own say on where your opinion goes. Voting is a right that every citizen in America over the age of 18 can do. Many people have become aware of the fact that the number of voters had reached its all time low. But as the newest voting season comes closer, we should still have a voice and the freedom to decide what we do. Which is, take a step against making America a compulsory voting country, because it proves unnecessary and there are other alternatives than mandatory voting.
Any UK resident can vote, as long as they meet the minimum qualifications, which include; being at least 18 years of age or older, not legally prohibited from voting, and of course be a British, Irish, or Commonwealth Citizen. The other stipulation is that you must already be a registered voter. After meeting the qualifications to vote, as previously stated, you must now register to be a UK voter. There are a couple different ways a person can register to vote.
The action of voting is such important role in how our country is going to be developed, especially effects on the economy, foreign relationships, society, etc. People are becoming much involved in politics, which is extraordinary because it means that the people are understanding how important their vote is and how it brings change to the issues that truly bother them. Many citizens don’t vote because they are either lazy or too busy, they either have jobs, classes, families, or other responsibilities take care of, but voting is a responsibility that should be attended. Voting could be the thing to prevent awful political leader’s to be put in office who are not focusing on what’s truly important, which is the people, which means that