Game on in bid to encourage young people to vote
WEST Lothian Council is trying to encourage disengaged young people to vote by offering them the chance to win a black Nintendo wii games console.
West Lothian has a high number of young people who don't vote but are eligible to compared to other local authority areas, and the council wants to narrow the statistics.
The council wants younger people to vote, or even register, to monitor the views of why local youngsters don't take part in elections.
The prize is up for grabs to encourage people aged between 16 and 25 to register to vote and take part in a survey to find out their thoughts on voting and elections.
Officials have launched an initiative called Democracy Challenge to engage with, and advise youngsters on the election process, with advisors visiting 11 secondary schools in the area driving up registration numbers.
Derek Couper, 18, from Deans, is the chairman of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
He said: "I really do think young people are unfairly categorised as being disenfranchised from politics. I think there is a difference between issues and concerns both locally and internationally.
"What it's got to be about is making a link between issues young people are passionate about and the political process that can help them achieve that."
A council survey found that almost 45 per cent who did register wouldn't have done so otherwise as their parents had left them off the household canvas, or didn't even return one.
According to council officials, this is one of the biggest reasons why young people in West Lothian haven't been voting.
Comments also came from those who felt elections didn't affect them or they were "mystified" over the process.
Out of the 846 from the relevant age group who attended Democracy Challenge sessions, 582 (almost 67 per cent) registered to vote.
A council spokesman said: "We want to know what would make young people take the important decision to vote.
"By letting us know their thoughts, it will allow us to understand why young people vote or not, which in turn will help us to tailor our communications in the future."
The survey is on the council's website at www.westlothian.gov.uk/startvoting, and those who complete the survey will go into a prize draw to win the games console.
The closing date for the competition is the day after the General Election, which is
Voter registration teams have been out in West Lothian giving advice to young people on how to vote for the first time and a DVD, made for YouTube, was also launched at the Civic Centre on Tuesday.
Produced by Community Education and starring young people (first-time voters) from West Lothian College, the short video takes young people through the steps from arriving at the polling station to casting their vote.
The video – said to be "engaging and funny" – is expected to be a big hit with young people.
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Friday 18 May 2012
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