Community groups encouraged to support everyone to cast their vote
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 12th June 2024.
With less than a week remaining until voter registration closes, we’ve joined colleagues from across the sector to highlight the importance of everyone in our communities being able to cast their vote on July 4th.
The Vote Your Values campaign, led by the Poverty Alliance, highlights how people on lower incomes can get shut out from using their vote, with this year’s General Election set to be the most unequal for more than six decades.
At a recent meeting, organisations have emphasised the need for greater inclusivity and accessibility, access to hustings, manifestos that are understandable, and issues around voter registration and participation.
We’ve previously highlighted how new voter ID requirements could mean people from more deprived areas being turned away from voting at higher rates – with those who are disabled, unemployed, from an ethnic minority community or younger potentially facing more problems.
To create a fairer, more just society it’s vital that people in all communities can take part in our democracy, use their voice, and ensure their priorities are represented.
By becoming Voter Registration Champions, community organisations can play an important role throughout the campaigning and on election day by encouraging people to register to vote by midnight on 18th June, and highlighting the new voter ID rules.
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