Voting for the 2015 UK General Election is set to take place on the 7th of May, but there still seems to be some confusion around the deadline for voting and being registered in order to vote. The Electoral Commission has now launched a campaign to quash some misconceptions following a YouGov survey that found:
21% of people who rent privately believe they’re automatically registered to vote if they pay council tax
40% of those surveyed think that it is not possible to register to vote online
69% do not know when the deadline to register to vote is, with 13% thinking its already too late to register
For the first time in election history its watchdog will use mobile advertising to target young people on EE, O2 and Vodafone networks. They will also be set to receive SMS/MMS messages encouraging them to register to vote in the run-up to May.
According to Parliament, in the 2010 election the turnout was 65.1% but what about the other 35%?
Is text messaging the answer to missed votes?
A study in the American Journal of Political Science found that sending an SMS reminder to registered voters increased participation by 3%.
With our mobile phones being such a fundamental part of our everyday lives, it seems only natural to deliver important messages direct to voters’ phones. By sending a text message prompt to voters who have already registered to vote, the likelihood for increased uptake seems likely.
