✅Improving democracy

Key proposals for enhancing democracy

• Referendums + other forms of direct participation

• Lowering the voting age

• Compulsory voting

• Digital democracy

One of the current weaknesses of referendums is the ___?

absence of popular control over when + where they will be used, this creates suspicion that govts will only call referendums on issues which they support + when they are confident of winning

 the current weaknesses of referendums (the absence of popular control over when + where they will be used) can be overcome by ____?

stablishing processes through which citizens can initiate referendums, usually by getting the required no. Signatures on a petition, such initiatives have been increasingly widely used in the USA

The 1997-2010 labour govts placed an increased emphasis on the use of ___?

 focus groups + opinion polls

 how has the govt used focus groups + opinion polls

 less as a way of widening citizen’s involvement + more as a means of gauging public opinion

A more important development in democracy is the wider use of ___?

 'citizens' forums' /'citizens' juries', increasingly used in the USA, Germany, Denmark + the Netherlands

1 major advantage of citizens juries=

unlike referendums + opinion polls, they operate through deliberation + debate, participants are required to engage in discussion, through such mechanisms, an informed + mature sense of public opinion is developed, helping to overcome 1 of the key drawbacks traditionally associated w direct D (public's lack of knowledge)

The 2010 coalition govt proposed that direct popular participation can be expanded through the introduction of ____?

recall elections for MPS, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP if found to have engaged in serious wrong-doing + a petition for a by-election has been signed by 10% of the constituents. They also favoured moves towards the introduction of US-style primary elections

E-petition=

 A petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website

what happens to an e-petition that reaches 100k signatures?

 would be passed to the backbench business committee, which would consider whether it should be scheduled for debate by the commons

The idea of a 'public reading stage' gave the public an opportunity to ____?

comment on proposed legislation online, w a limited no. pilot public readings of govt bills having been held during 2010-15

in 2010-15 Proposals were also made to strengthen local democracy, including the idea of ___?

giving local residents the ability to block excessive council tax increases through referendums

critics argue that giving local residents the ability to block excessive council tax increases through referendums + e-petitions are just a form of ____?

'fig leave democracy' designed to give the impression that the govt is listening to the public w/out genuinely having to share policy-making power w them

Focus group=

 a small cross-section of people who are used to gain insight into the wider public views

Citizens jury=

a panel of non-specialists, often randomly chosen, used to deliberate on + express views about issues of public policy

Recall elections=

a special election usually precipitated by a popular partition that forces an official to seek re-election before the end of their term in office

Primary election=

an intra-party election held to select a candidate to contest a subsequent 'official' election' primaries may be either 'open' to all voters or 'closed' (restricted to registered party members)

arguments for referendums

Direct democracy

Political education

Reduced govt power

Constitutional changes

direct democracy argument for referendums:

• Being a device of DD, referendums give the general public direct + unmediated control over govt decision making, ensuring the public's views aren't distorted by politicians who claim to 'represent' them

political education argument for referendums:

• Help create better informed, more educated + more politically engaged electorate

reduced govt power as an argument for referendums:

• The govt has less control over their outcome than it does over parl, citizens are therefore protected against the danger of over-mighty govt

constitutional changes argument for referendums:

• Constitutional changes should be popularly enforced via referendums as constitutional rules affect the way the country is governed + ensures that any newly created body has democratic legitimacy

arguments against referendums:

Ill-informed decisions

Weakens parl

Irresponsible govt

Strengthens govt

Unreliable views

ill-informed decisions as an argument against referendums:

• Compared to elected politicians, the general public is ill-informed, poorly educated + lacks political experience, the publics interests are therefore best safeguarded by a system of 'govt by politicians' rather than any form of popular self-govt

weakened parl argument against referendums:

• Doesn't strengthen democracy, rather, it substituted DD for parliamentary democracy. This also means that decisions are not made on the basis of careful deliberation + debate

irresponsible govt argument against referendums:

• Referendums allow govts to absolve themselves of responsibility by handing decisions over to the electorate. As govts are elected to govern, they should both make policy decisions + be made accountable for them

strengthened govt argument against referendums:

• They may extend govt power as govt decide when + over what issues to call referendums + also frame the Q asked + can also dominate the publicity campaign

unreliable views as an argument against referendums:

• Provide only a snapshot of public opinion at 1 point in time, they are therefore an unreliable guide to public interest, making them inappropriate for making or endorsing constitutional decisions, as these have long term implications

how Views abt the age of majority have changed:

traditionally adulthood + therefore the right to vote was believed to start at 21, however as the 20th century progressed, this was gradually reduced for most of the world to 18, in the uk the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969 by the Wilson Labour govt, the voting age was further reduced to 16 for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum w subsequent agreement that this should extend to all elections held in Scotland,

 e.g.s of voting ages over 18 are now rare, including:

 Singapore, Malaysia + Fiji where voting age remains at 21, + in Italy where voters must be 25 to elect the senate (tho still 18 for general voting)

E.g.s of states w lower voting ages, include:

 17 in Sudan, Seychelles + Indonesia + 16 in Cuba, Nicaragua, Isle of Man + certain state elections in Germany

who backed lowering the voting age + candidacy age?

Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru + the Greens

what has thinking regarding lowering the voting age been endorsed by?

he independent commissions such as the electoral commission, the commission on local governance in England + the Human rights commission in NI

what was the issue of lowering the voting age made more promenant by?

organizations such as the 'votes at 16' campaign which was launched in 2003

2025 and the voting age

• In July 2025 16 year olds were proposed to be given the ability to vote, this was to be delivered in an elections bill + a subsequent programme of secondary legislation

age of majority=

 the age at which adulthood begins, in the eyes of the law; reflecting the idea that a person has 'majority control' over themselves

Electoral choice in the UK extends to the choice to vote for ___? + what is there increasing anxieties about?

candidate and parties and also the choice not to vote, there is increasing anxiety about the UK's low turnout

• important examples of states in which voting in compulsory:

• 2007 voting was compulsory in 32 states, including Australia, Spain, Italy, + France (for senate elections only). In Italy + France compulsory voting is more symbolic that legal as voting is not enforced thru the punishment of non-voters. Elsewhere, enforcement normally consists of a small fine, In Australia it is compulsory to both show up to a polling station + have name marked off a certified list but also mark a ballot paper, fold it + place it in the ballot box, they have a non-voting fine of $20 however the enforcement of the fine is by no means strict

arguments for lowering the voting age:

Responsibilities w/out rights

Youth interests ignored

Stronger political engagement

Irrational cut-off age

Responsibilities w/out rights as an argument for lowering the voting age:

• The UK had a blurred age of majority w the minimum age for various activities being lower than 18, such as leave education, enter full-time employment, have sex, join the army (w parental consent), get married or leave home

Youth interests ignored as an argument for lowering the voting age

• Lack of political representation for young people between 16-18 means their needs, views + interests are routinely marginalized or ignored, lowering the voting age gives greater attention to + simulate fresher thinking on issues such as education, drugs + general social morality

Stronger political engagement argument for lowering voting age

• Concern abt declining civic engagement focuses particularly on the young, as 18-24 year olds have the lowest turnout rate, lowering the voting age would re-engage such voters in 2 ways: would strengthen their interest + understanding, + help to reorientate politics around issues more meaningful to younger voters

Irrational cut-off age as an argument for lowering the voting age:

• The notion that the current voting age is a reflection of intellection + educational development is flawed, it ignores the rise in educational standards + no restrictions apply to ignorant + poorly educated adults

arguments against lowering the voting age:

Immature voters

Preserving 'childhood'

Deferred representation

Undermining turnout

Immature voters argument against lowering voting age:

• Until 18 most young people are in full time education + continue to live w their parents, meaning they are not full citizens + their educational development remains incomplete, most 16-18 year olds are unlikely to be interested in or have knowledge of politics

Preserving 'childhood' argument against lowering voting age:

• The campaign to lower the voting is a symptom of a larger trend to erode childhood by forcing adult responsibilities on children

Deferred representation argument against lowering voting age:

• Young people are not permanently denied political representation it is just deferred, moreover, 18 year olds are also likely to be broadly in touch w the interests of 16/17 year olds

Undermining turnout argument against lowering voting age

• There is a chance that lowering the voting age will cause turnout rates to decline as young voters are less likely to vote that older voters, many 16-18 year olds may choose not to vote, as voters who do not vote in their 1st eligible election are the most unreliable voters, this may create a generation of abstainers

• Examples of digital democracy:

• Online voting in elections + referendums (e-voting/ 'push-button democracy')

• Online petitions organized by govt or other bodies such as the campaigning organization 38 degrees

• The use of ICT to publicize, organize, lobby + fundraise (e-campaigning)

• Accessing political information, news or comment via websites, blogs, twitter etc

• The use of interactive TV or social media to allow citizens to engage in political debate +, potentially, policy-making

• The use of mobile phones + social media to organise popular protests + demonstrations, as in the case of anti-corporate activists + the occupy movement

digital democracy=

 the use of compute-based technologies to enhance citizens' engagement in democratic processes

• 3 ways digital democracy can happen:

• In the representative model: digital democracy seeks to strengthen the operation of established democratic mechanisms (e-voting + e-petitions)

• In the deliberative model: digital democracy opens up new opportunities for direct popular participation (electronic direct democracy)

• In the activist model: digital democracy attempts to strengthen political + social movements + to bolster citizen power generally (online communities + ICT-based protests)

arguments for digital democracy:

Easier participation

Access to information

Ease of organization

Power to the people

Easier participation argument for digital democracy:

• Enable citizens to express their views easily + conveniently w/out having to leave home, thus it's likely to have a positive impact on participation rates + on levels of political education, failing electoral turnout may simply be a consequence of the democratic process not keeping up to date w how citizens in an 'information society' wish to participate in politics

Access to information argument for digital democracy:

• New tech enlarges citizens' access to info, making possible a truly free exchange of ideas + views, e-democracy could create a genuinely 2-way democratic process, in which citizens become active participants in politics rather than passive recipients

Ease of organization argument for digital democracy:

• One of the disadvantages of referendums is the time, cost + resources that go into their organisation, on the other hand, 'virtual' referendums would be cheaper + easier to organize + so could be held more frequently

Power to the people argument for digital democracy:

• New tech has supported the development of political social movements, giving rise to a new style of decentralized + non-hierarchic activist politics + shifted power form govt to private citizens

argument against digital democracy:

Electoral malpractice

'virtual democracy'

Digital divide

Anti-democratic forces

Electoral malpractice argument against digital democracy:

• Scrutiny + control of the process becomes weaker, wider postal voting in the UK led to growing allegations of malpractice + corruption, the great advantage of physical participation is that people's identities can be effectively checked + the process of voting can be properly 'policed'

'virtual democracy' argument against digital democracy:

• E democracy threatens to turn the democratic process into a series of push-button referendums while citizens sit alone at home, further eroding the 'public' dimension of political participation, reducing democratic citizens into a series of consumer choices

Digital divide argument against digital democracy:

• It is difficult to square e democracy with the democratic notion of political equality, access to 'new' info + communication technology is not universal, this would give rise to new patterns of political inequality as the 'info rich' can dominate the 'info poor'

Anti-democratic forces as an argument against digital democracy:

• The evidence is that the internet in particular has been widely used to spread the cause of racial + religious intolerance + political extremism generally

HRA 1998 protocol 1 protects:

'free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the people in the choice of the legislature.'

Case study: votes for prisoners

• In 2004 a case brought forward by Hirst, w the support of Prison Reform Trust in the EUCHR, the court ruled that the UK's blanket ban on prisoners' right to vote broke protocol 1

• In 2004 the Prison Reform Trust + Unlocked (national association of ex-offenders) launched the 'barred from voting' campaign to argue that the ban on prisoners undermines the principle of voting equality

result of the hirst vote for prisoners case?

• The UK govt was finally seen to be in compliance w the Hirst ruling in 2017 when it ensured that prisoners can register to vote + can vote while released on temporary licence, altho this will only affect a few hundred people

significance of the hirst vote for prisoners case?

• The decision by the govt was seen as the most minor change that it could make to be seen as compliant

• The Barred from voting campaign has found it almost impossible to cut thru to the public/ politicians w their arguments politicians have remained steadfast in their opposition

bared from voting campaign arguments?

• Voting is a human right

• Voting equally is central to democracy

• The vote would promote rehabilitation + reintroduce prisoners into society, which is important as social exclusion is a major cause of crime + re-offending

Cameron described the idea of giving prisoners the right to vote as ____?

 making him feel 'physically ill' and every time the issue has arisen in parl since 1970 the ban has been supported by cross-party agreement

The key argument from the opposition to votes for prisoners is:

if you break the law you cannot make the law + prisoners have broken their contract with society and so should lose their rights

Many in parl feel that the Hirst ruling involves the EUCHR overextending what?

 its powers in telling the UK how to run its own country

how many countries in Europe do/don’t let prisoners vote?

• There are 18 countries in Europe where prisoners have the right to vote + 12 where it is partially restricted, there are 13 where they have no right at all, putting the UK in the minority