Bite The Ballot
50 signatures reached
To: Members of the UK House of Lords
#TheAmendment
We call on the UK House of Lords to support - and vote for - our amendment to the Wales Bill, and tackle the Welsh youth democracy crisis, head on.
Why is this important?
In 2011, only 35% of young people voted in the Welsh Assembly elections, compared to 70% of those aged 65+. Young people are disengaged, disinterested and overlooked. But how can we expect young people to take an interest in something they've never been educated about?
#TheAmendment will set in law things that Bite The Ballot have been doing for the last five years:
> We believe local Electoral Registration Officers have a duty to make sure everyone is registered to vote.
> If certain groups of people are less likely to be registered, then Electoral Registration Officers need to go that extra mile to get those groups on the register.
> As well as targeting these groups, we believe Electoral Registration Officers should go into Welsh schools and colleges to run voter engagement sessions.
The final thing that #TheAmendment will do is make registering to vote as easy and straightforward as possible:
> We want to make it possible to register to vote by simply ticking a box at the bottom of a driver's license or a passport application form (this is only on an 'opt-in' basis - none of your details will be shared, unless you agree).
On 24 September 2014, Members of the Welsh Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, voted in favour of our idea. But, the Welsh Assembly cannot make laws about voting or elections. This is decided at Westminster. That's why we are calling on all Members of the House of Lords to listen to us and vote in favour of #TheAmendment.
And that's why we need you to to persuade them to listen, turn up to the debate - and vote.
#TheAmendment will set in law things that Bite The Ballot have been doing for the last five years:
> We believe local Electoral Registration Officers have a duty to make sure everyone is registered to vote.
> If certain groups of people are less likely to be registered, then Electoral Registration Officers need to go that extra mile to get those groups on the register.
> As well as targeting these groups, we believe Electoral Registration Officers should go into Welsh schools and colleges to run voter engagement sessions.
The final thing that #TheAmendment will do is make registering to vote as easy and straightforward as possible:
> We want to make it possible to register to vote by simply ticking a box at the bottom of a driver's license or a passport application form (this is only on an 'opt-in' basis - none of your details will be shared, unless you agree).
On 24 September 2014, Members of the Welsh Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, voted in favour of our idea. But, the Welsh Assembly cannot make laws about voting or elections. This is decided at Westminster. That's why we are calling on all Members of the House of Lords to listen to us and vote in favour of #TheAmendment.
And that's why we need you to to persuade them to listen, turn up to the debate - and vote.
How it will be delivered
We'll deliver your signatures in person to the Lord Speaker.
