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Jersey is bottom of the league table for election turnout
Turnout in Jersey elections is lower than in all OECD countries, putting it at the bottom of the league table in respect of civic engagement. This issue is the subject of a new report by the newly formed Policy Centre Jersey.
The report, Election Turnout in Jersey, written by Sir Mark Boleat, is a comprehensive analysis of voter turnout. The report seeks to analyse the key statistics –
- Turnout in Jersey elections over the last 30 years has averaged 44.1%.
- In the 2022 election it was 41.7%, the third lowest over the last 30 years.
- Turnout in Jersey elections is lower than in all the OECD countries.
- Turnout in the last Guernsey election was 79.7%, nearly double the Jersey figure of 41.7%.
- In the 2022 election turnout was much higher in the 65+ age group (53%) than in the under 35 age group (17%), in rural areas (40%) than in urban areas (18%) and among owner-occupiers (41%) than among tenants (16%).
- Voter registration is also low in Jersey. For the 2022 election only 75% of those eligible to vote registered to do so, so only 31% of those eligible to vote actually voted.
The report notes that opinion surveys suggest that the reasons for the low turnout are mainly general negative attitudes towards the political system in Jersey. The main reasons given for people not voting in the 2022 election were –
- Wouldn’t have made a difference 30%Don’t trust the political system 28%Not interested in the election 24%Didn’t know enough about the candidates 22%
Within the present arrangements the report suggests that turnout can best be increased by -
- Increasing postal voting – principally by providing an option for postal voting in voter registration forms.
- Simplifying the voter registration form, in particular by removing unnecessary wording on data protection and giving a single return point.
- Increasing the number of polling stations to ensure consistent coverage.
- Introducing one or more super polling stations (as in Guernsey) at which any elector can cast their votes on election day.
- Better sharing of information between election officials, and use of other data such as social security and tax records.
However, the report concludes that turnout will remain low unless there is a change in attitude to the political system.
