Roll up! Get your free Lottery ticket here..

[Workingman]

No, it is not a joke!

Labour is proposing to that everyone who votes in an election gets a free entry into a lottery. This is seen as a way of getting more of us to vote. Other proposals include making voting day a national holiday and having voting terminals in schools, supermarkets and the likes.

They might as well add "press the red button", tweet votes, Facebook votes and come up with an Android vote app for smartphones.

Personally I would go the other way and only have polling stations for normal healthy people. Of course some postal votes would have to be kept for the infirm and those overseas - forces etc. - but everyone else should turn up in person. At least those who turn up are showing that they care.

If turnouts are low it is the responsibility of politicians to look at themselves and see what they are doing wrong and then take steps to change things. Voting gimmicks are not the answer.

[Suff]

Well of course if we are going to be silly about it, how about making voting day a mandatory working day, put voting stations in the workplaces and if you don't vote you get docked a day's pay....

Or we could go the way of the Aussies. Voting is mandatory and if you don't vote and don't have a good reason why, then you get fined....

It has already been said. People don't vote, don't care and don't work because they are too comfortable. Those who are motivated to get ahead will always get ahead, always vote and always be active. But that is less than 25% of the population. The rest?

Motivate. Pain. Discomfort. Make them want to change something. Don't make them think life is just great, hunky dory, why bother voting, life will continue as it has.

Of course politicians won't do this because if they do the people won't vote for them....

Perhaps we need true politicians. Those who don't particularly want to be there but are there to do a good job and move on.....

Thud.

That was me falling off my chair and waking up....

[TheOstrich]

I agree, gimmicks wouldn't sway me whether to vote or not.

I'm convinced may don't vote because they can't actually see any point in voting, given the currrent state of our "democracy". We have reached the point where voting is an irrelevance, not a hard-won right. Tackle that problem first, and people might become more interested.

[debih]

The day of voting online will come.

Be it a tweet, a twonk or twurp or a (I've run out of tw words) it'll come.

Because we have a generation of people who don't communicate in any other form heading our way..................

[cromwell]

Any such system will be wide open to hacking and electoral fraud. They tried to demonstrate a "secure" voting system in the US not long since and it took a Microsoft worker five minutes to hack it.

[KateLMead]

The day of voting online will come.

Be it a tweet, a twonk or twurp or a (I've run out of tw words) it'll come.

Because we have a generation of people who don't communicate in any other form heading our way..................

And Twaddle!! I see the head of the Unions RED LEN is threatening to withhold millions from Milliband if he doesn't veer more to the LEFT.. He has GOT to keep THAT RED FLAG FLYING!! "OR ELSE"

[Suff]

People don't vote because they think it does not matter, they just get the same old same old.

People need to realise that they get what they vote for. If they don't vote. Or are not willing to vote for radical measures, then they will get the same old regurgitated pap from every party in power.

It is only at times of crisis that things really change. But by then it's usually too late. Then there are endless quango's and committees to investigate what happened.

It is simple. Governments were too busy trying to buy votes to do their job and voters were too busy to vote because it was all too comfortable and nothing would change anyway....

We might as well have hard core communism with only one party for all the good the electorate do.

If they don't wake up understand it is their job to see to it that the right people sit in parliament and represent them, then it can only get worse.

When it all goes horribly wrong everyone will be running around asking why it all happened. There should be only one answer. "You didn't USE your vote". BTW I don't count spoiling ballot papers using your vote. If you don't want to vote, vote for the person who most revolts you. S/He might get in and that would shock the hell out of the politicians and the voters and maybe make them stop and think. Well if it happens enough. Oh and no, I wouldn't vote for George Galloway, that's a step tooooooo far....

[Workingman]

Yes, we should use our vote. but hands up all those who would trust the votes of those whose main motivator for voting was to be entered into a lottery.

[Suff]

I wouldn't. But perhaps they might actually watch the election.

Personally I'd like the acceptance speeches to be made on the evening of the day after. So that those who couldn't care or couldn't be bothered to stay up, could watch it live....

I know they could record it etc, but would they.

Exceedingly irritating all the same.

Anyway, it may be a moot point if Salmond enfranchises 16 and 17 year old's, promises the earth and wins his vote. Then it's a Tory express train in Westminster for the foreseeable future.

When all these people lose their benefits, they'll vote all right. For all the WRONG reasons.

I'm still with mandatory voting and a fine if you don't. After all you don't have to actually VOTE for someone. Although, I'd go for electronic voting and forcing people to vote for ONE of the candidates. No way to complete the vote without voting for nobody and fined if you don't complete the vote.

The only way to really shake politics up in this country. UKIP and EDL and even the BNP would benefit hugely. Probably the greens too.

Personally I feel that spoiling your ballot paper is the same as not voting. I don't care if they count them, all it does is limit your choices. If you don't vote for someone, you have not voted, in my mind. Because choice is the choice to vote FOR someone. Not voting for Anyone is not choice, anyone can do that just by not turning up.

Yes I know it's a vote of no confidence in the system. But in the end, who cares, all it means is that everyone who didn't vote is now being told what to do by the person everyone else voted for.

I also know that if there are a significant number of spoiled papers, there will be an investigation. But think of it this way. If you REALLY want a protest vote at all the candidates, then vote BNP. Because whatever constituency votes in the first ever BNP MP will be inundated with the press. Just walk down the high street any time in the next week and you'll get your viewpoint across on prime time TV.... All you then have to say is "I don't trust any of them but now they have to work with that B@st@rd. That's my vote".

This is about getting the message over and using your vote to best effect. Ask the Italians who tried to vote a comedian in as their PM. They really see the joke of it all. But then I always felt the Italians had a great sense of humour. It has rocked the entire political establishment in Italy that the people could effectively vote to destroy the establishment, their economy and their standing in the EU.

THAT is effective protest vote.

[Workingman]

It is all moot anyway. There is no chance of meaningful electoral reform any time soon. No party will impose compulsory voting, there are too many libertarians about for that, and no party will allow NOTA votes to be counted as an option. The parties, all of them, put too much effort into imposing the candidate of their choice on constituencies for them to risk allowing the electorate to tell them to "Get Stuffed!". There would be a fire sale of parachutes.

However, if Labour get in the idea of bribes might have legs. Getting people out to vote on the off chance of winning tickets to the X-factor final or a slot on Jeremy Kyle would work in its favour. I find it depressing and scary in equal measure.