EU referendum ballot paper

[TheOstrich]

Yer 'tiz ......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... um=twitter

Now make sure you put your cross in the right box!!

[pederito1]

I thought there would be two options to put a cross in " Yes I want to stay in the EU" and "No I don`t want tho leave the EU".

[Suff]

Having read the proposal, I would have put it differently.

Today the UK is a member of the European Union.

Do you want to:

Stay? []
Leave? []

I can't think of any way of presenting it which is short, succinct, to the point, uses simple english and elicits the correct response from people.

Lawyers may think that Remain is the best word. But the words of the people are stay/leave. The only remains are mouldering in the political graves of the UK internal political conflict on whether we need the EU or not....

[Workingman]

Ped, you nearly got me there....

... but having said that if a person does not know what they want to do about our membership of the EU, no matter how the question is put, they should not be voting.

[Suff]

But there is a very funny thing. Ballot papers and what people do. My mother in law, before she died and whilst in good mind, voted for the wrong MP simply because there were so many entries on the form and she felt pressured to select and get out of the booth.

During the Scottish Elections in which SNP won their minority government, Salmond worked extremely hard to teach people how the Scottish election ballot system worked. Directly as a result of him many hardline socialist voters lost their seats and people began to understand and trust their voting system. He taught them that they did not need to put a "preference" on the list, that they could just vote for one and only one candidate. The result came much stronger in the next election.

The best thing that could happen in this referendum is that the ballot paper format is released 3 months before the referendum. Then the two sides can put up pictures of where the X goes if you support their viewpoint. Then it will just be a matter of people repeating what they see. Quick, simple and direct.

Not that I'll bet on it..

[Workingman]

Simple enough?

[Kaz]

The proposed form looks simple enough to me! Anyone who doesn't understand the difference between remain or leave shouldn't be voting

[Suff]

Anyone who doesn't understand the difference between remain or leave shouldn't be voting

Having worked with Mrs S with a lot of disadvantaged children who turn into disadvantaged adults, but sometimes excellent and wonderful parent, I can say that a lack of reading ability or education does not always mean a lack of ability to know what they want or the wish to express it.

I have a very moderate level of education but am, fortunately, able to express myself and what I want. In my family is a nephew who is borderline dyslexic, avoids paperwork like the plague, but is more wealthy than me and runs a very successful farriers business.

I try to see the other side as much as I can. It is taken for granted that graduates of our education system are able to cope easily in a written world. That is not true. I grew up with a boy who was a far better sprinter than me, he broke every record I broke one year after me. He was dyslexic and stopped competing in case they wanted him to write anything. He should have competed for Britain, he was good enough.

[Kaz]

Suff I know a bit about learning difficulties, my 'baby' is at a special school! I just don't think the paper could be made much simpler and still be functional. My remark was meant slightly tongue in cheek....

[Diflower]

Come off it Suff, remain or leave really couldn't be any simpler, how else do you think they could have put it?!

It can't allow any more than it already does for eg dyslexia - after all, since it's published now, there's plenty of time for anyone to get familiarised with the wording and remember which option they want.

Realistically, if that's not understood, then should the person not understanding have a vote?