Kristen Gyles | Voting rights aren’t responsibilities

Every election period the same condemnation is heaped upon the heads of those who are bold enough to admit they will not vote. Even without the threats posed by COVID-19, the country would have had to battle some amount of voter apathy this election with what has been, for the most part, a declining voter turnout percentage.

To fix the problem, some persons, especially the politically affiliated, have been insistent that we all must vote and that it is unpatriotic and careless to do otherwise. These talks seem to have become more commonplace in recent times, and some have gone as far as to suggest that the Government should make attendance at the polls compulsory for all adult citizens.

I should preface everything that follows with the fact that I am weary of persons who have little regard for the basic concept of choice, and consequently wouldn’t mind a complete overhaul of the democratic system we have going here in Jamaica. And might I add, there are quite a few.

Many proponents of compulsory voting will argue that non-voters simply don’t have a right to express views on political matters since, after all, they remained quiet where their voices mattered most. Is this a reasonable suggestion, though? Especially within a context where citizens are expected to wear their minds out trying to calculate the odds of their preferred prime minister being elected, notwithstanding their voting for the more diligent member of parliament (oftentimes from the opposing party)?

UNREASONABLE AND UNFAIR

Some criticisms are unreasonable and unfair. And the suggestion that because a non-voter has views on who an ideal culture minister might be, they should also have views on which member of parliament candidate for their constituency would get their road fixed faster, is just that – unreasonable and unfair.

Not everyone will have a vote come September 3 because many persons have not seen one, let alone both MP nominees for their constituency. In fact, with nominees being changed at last minute, who besides their diehard party supporters will actually vote for them?

Still, some argue that we must all exercise the right to vote that was fought for us with blood and sweat. I would like to suggest that our forefathers fought for our freedom and not for further enslavement. It’s interesting that while enslaved, we didn’t have the option to vote, and now that we are free we argue that we shouldn’t have the option not to vote. Some freedom.

The crux of the matter where compulsory voting is concerned centres around the question of whether the individual’s right to vote is also a duty or responsibility. I’m no philosopher but I know that with any right to do comes a corresponding right not to do. As citizens of a free state (I hope), we all have a right to vote. However, rights are not duties, obligations or shackles.

In the same way that individuals have the democratic right to vote, they also have the democratic right not to vote. And many exercise the latter as a form of protest against what they consider to be a chronic case of ‘six a one, half a dozen a di odda’.

Of course, the concept of ‘rights’ has now become a dirty word for some people who feel that rights can neither be eaten nor used to pay light bills, and as such have scant regard for them.

For their sakes, it should also be pointed out that the matter of mandatory voting and how it is likely to solve the low voter turnout problem can be looked at from a very pragmatic standpoint. Coercing persons to vote, whether through laws or social pressure, does one thing. It forces persons who have no interest, and consequently very little knowledge or understanding of either the electoral process or its associated candidates, to vote. Disaster.

SOLUTIONS IN THE WRONG PLACES

That will only lead to widespread exploitation of some of the most uninformed and vulnerable people, since all politicians would have to do is let off a few hundred dollars in exchange for a vote which never mattered much anyway. Or even worse – release a dub plate or two about their green or orange Clarks and get the votes for free. When citizens have no obligation to vote, politicians are forced to work harder to get citizens to the polling stations.

Jamaicans are also very creative people who simply can’t be bossed around. Round them all up, drag them on to the shuttle buses and drive them to the polling stations if you wish. Perhaps the majority of those ballots will be found invalid.

Something similar actually happened in Bolivia, one of the over 20 countries that have gone the route of mandatory voting. In 2010, roughly 60 per cent of the ballots cast in Bolivia’s judicial elections were either spoilt or left blank. This was with nearly 80 per cent of the country’s electorate coming out to vote. Some things simply can’t be mandated.

The concerns surrounding our low voter turnouts are well understood but frankly, we are looking for solutions in the wrong places. The people are not to be blamed for not wanting to vote. Those who are in search of votes have perhaps simply not done too much to impress the people. Put the blame where it belongs.

Fortunately, this election season seems to be carrying with it a little less apathy than usual. Perhaps because we got the big music icons involved. I do hope the primary target audience of all the dubs will come out to vote, though. It would be quite a pity if all this time our very honourable politicians were out and stunting on the wrong crowd.

- Kristen Gyles is a mathematics educator and an actuarial science graduate. Email feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com