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Mark Easton
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Who will vote for police commissioners?
First ever elections for police commissioners
Here's my report on fears of a low tour-out for the first-ever elections for police commissioners. My question to would-be voters: "Are you excited about the PCC vote?"
With less than a month to go before the first ever elections for police commissioners in England and Wales, there is still some concern that poor publicity will lead to a low turnout. They will be elected on 15 November and replace police authorities in each force area in England and Wales, making police directly accountable to voters.
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Comment number 24.
BBC drama17th October 2012 - 23:10
The Electoral Reform Society predict a turn-out of 18.5% for the Police and Crime Commissioners vote (see their website), the lowest voter turnout in modern times.
That figure of 18.5% is the national average, so presumably in some areas it will be lower still. At what point is participation so low that no democratic mandate can be legitimately be claimed? We may be about to find out.
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Comment number 23.
Breaking news17th October 2012 - 22:53
For the first time in my life I will not be voting in an election. I don't want police commissioners and the only way that I can express my view on this is by participating in the low turnout.
I say to everybody reading this:
Don't want commissioners? = DON'T VOTE.
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Comment number 22.
jon112dk17th October 2012 - 18:19
Not sure that the disinterest is due to a lack of publicity.
There are plenty of people who know about these elections, but still aren't interested.
(18 makes a valid point I've mentioned previously - all of these low turnout local elections give a risk of relatively small numbers of organised people taking control - particularly if high levels of postal votes are present.)
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Comment number 21.
Little_Old_Me17th October 2012 - 17:45
In so much as HYS can be seen as representative of the UK population at large (it can't be very much - self selecting samples are never that accyrate) it seems that few even know about it, less care & a majority of those that do vote will spoil their paper of vote for anyone but a majory party candidate......yet an expensive omnishambles of a diaster looms for the Coalition.....
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Comment number 20.
Whistling Neil17th October 2012 - 17:40
20 I disapprove of the entire process not simply party political involvement - were it just party political involvement in a process I agreed with I would look for an independent worth voing for.
Independents also have their own axes to grind in many cases more so sometimes.
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Comments 5 of 24