Yes! in Derry/Londonderry

Our banner flying from the City walls at Guildhall Square

The YES! campaign has taken to the road to explain to people why it’s so important to vote YES! on 5 May. In the words of Gerry Anderson we went to Stroke City.

The team had an action packed day, campaigning across the city with Pól Callaghan and Martin Reilly, meeting John Hume, Colum Eastwood and Mark H. Durkan in and around the city as well as student leaders at Magee.  The campaign banner – Norn Iron says Yes – hanging from the city walls helped raise awareness about the move to fairer votes.

Northern Ireland organiser Stephen Glenn said:

“We are delighted to be in Northern Ireland’s second city to talk to voters and explain why such a small change will make such a big difference.  A YES! vote on 5 May will make MPs work harder for our support, gives us a stronger voice over who wins, and will stop “jobs for life” for MPs.  To have the support of Ireland’s Greatest in John Hume is a real boost to our campaign.”

Stephen Glenn, with John Hume, Martin Reilly and Pól Callaghan

With Mayor Colum Eastwood

With student leaders at the University of Ulster

Mark H Durkan joined us at "Hands across the divide" to say Yes!

Release: Rathlin says YES! to fairer votes

The Harbour, Rathlin Island

Rathlin says Yes! to Fairer Votes

Rathlin Islanders welcomed the YES to fairer votes campaign to their shores. The campaign spent a day talking to voters across the island about the upcoming referendum on 5th May.

The islanders had recently rallied around to secure the island’s ballot box so that they could continue to vote on the island. The residents are well aware that every vote matters and want their voice to be heard.

Stephen Glenn, campaign organiser for NI said: “Everyone I spoke to today said they wanted politicians to work harder to get elected. They want their vote to count and their voice to be heard. That’s exactly what the new Alternative Vote system will do. Rathlin Islanders have just as much right to be heard and we’re taking this campaign all across NI.”

Every vote counts from Rathlin and beyond

ENDS

Community Organiser Laura Hawthorne on the ferry to Rathlin

Related Articles

• Success for democracy on Rathlin (libdemsni.wordpress.com)
• Ed Miliband joins Lib Dems on AV drive (independent.co.uk)
• Billy Bragg wants Northern Ireland to say Yes! (fairervotesbelfast.wordpress.com)

you can still vote #yes2av if you’re not here on May 5th

Whilst out and about over the last few weeks many local people have told me that they won’t be here on May 5th and so won’t be able to vote in the Referendum. Of course, this is not true.

If you are going to be away from Northern Ireland, whether as a student, or away on holiday, or working away from home, and are registered to vote, you can apply for a postal or proxy ballot.

Contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland to get the form.

Some frequently asked questions about Postal and Proxy voting

Can I apply to vote by post or proxy?

If you are listed on the electoral register and you cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at your polling station, you can apply to vote by post or proxy. The Deputy Returning Officer for your area will decide if the application is approved on those grounds.

When do I have to return my application by?

The deadline for the return of completed applications for the elections and referendum on 5 May is 5.00pm on 11 April 2011.

Will one application cover both elections and the referendum?

Yes, you only need to submit one application for both elections and the referendum.

Can anyone be a proxy? Do they have to be listed on the register?

Your proxy must be aged 18 or over and be a British, Irish, Commonwealth or European citizen (note: a European citizen cannot act as your proxy for the referendum). They do not have to be listed on the electoral register.

A person can only be the proxy for close relatives (husband, wife, civil partner, child, grandchild, brother, sister, parent or grandparent) and up to two other people at the same election.

My proxy won’t be able to make to the polling station on polling day – can he apply for a postal vote?

Yes he can apply for a postal vote up until 5.00pm on 11 April.

What identity does a proxy voter have to produce at the polling station?

They will have to produce one of the following identity documents:

• A UK, Irish or EEA driving licence (photographic part)
• A UK, Irish or EU passport
• An Electoral Identity Card
• A Translink Senior SmartPass
• A Translink 60+ SmartPass
• A Translink War Disabled SmartPass
• A Translink Blind Person’s SmartPass

Can I email/fax my application to you?

No, we require an original signature so cannot accept applications by email or fax.

Can I apply for an absent vote at an Area Electoral Office?

You can obtain the form from the Area Electoral Office but you will need to go and get it attested and then return with your application. We advise you to download the form from our website and get it fully completed before leaving it in to an Area Electoral Office.

When will I receive my postal vote?

Your postal vote will be issued from 19-21 April.

from EONI.org.uk

2011: A Political Oddity starring Ken Clarke

Image via Wikipedia

“Bring in highly odd and more extreme people” pleads Ken Clarke, speaking about what AV ‘really’ means for the UK. “Don’t vote Yes to AV – you are going to get an even odder collection of politicians”, he cries. How the mighty have fallen!

Reduced to predicting the apocalypse and using the type of attacks that would embarrass even a 9-year-old, Ken Clarke provides the perfect example of No2AV’s ongoing and ludicrous campaign to drag First-Past-The-Post out of the graveyard where it rightly belongs.

Yet this is just the latest in a long line of bizarre antics from the No2AV camp. With its made-up sums, botched poll and chronic unwillingness to defend the failed system it alleges to support, the No camp persist in avoiding the real issues, instead offering only the thinnest veneer of debate, using their fanciful nightmares to distract from reality.

Well let us look at the facts. The current system allows MPs to be voted in on just 3 out of 10 votes. It encourages tactical voting and narrows our choice in viable candidates. It allows MPs to abuse this system and keep jobs for life. It makes some votes worthless. If an MP wins with just 3 out of 10 votes, 7 votes were cast for nothing. Hardly representative.

Let’s stick with the facts.

AV empowers the population and makes votes count. It forces MPs to work harder. It gives the public a real choice. It means MPs will be elected with at least 50% support.

And David Cameron wonders how people could possibly think AV can help restore some faith in our politics.

We have the opportunity to vote in a system which makes the way we elect our MPs just. All the stubborn opposition want to do is play politics as usual. Fits their campaign perfectly. Is Ken Clarke so out of touch, to believe the public will elect odd and unusual people, that he is willing to deny them real power at the ballot box?

An opinion piece by Belfast-based Yes! to Fairer Votes supporter Patrick