Mar
UK General Election Voter registration
On 2nd March, a voter registration event took place at the University of Southampton, held collaboratively between SUSU, the City Council, and PAIR. Though campus is currently swept up in Student elections, the general election takes place in May this year and there were still 14,000 voters not registered at the time of the event – the majority of whom are students.
Local councillors Dan Jeffrey and Keith Morrell came to speak and encourage students to register to vote, a service available at the event. Apathy towards the general elections is not an encouraging sign for the student generation. In Southampton Itchen, the majority vote is just 142 people. The 14,000 unregistered voters really do hold the power to affect change.
James Edwards, VP for Politics and International relations, said “making student voices heard in the upcoming general election has never been more important, or more hard to achieve. The event not only demonstrated a desire to overcome the obstacles that limit students from voting, but also showed that apathy is not as prevalent among students as is commonly believed. There is a real desire for student issues to be addressed, and a greater understanding that without higher levels of voter registration this will not occur”
The next general election is on the 7th of May. To Vote, you must be on the electoral register, whether for your student house or your home address. The deadline for registration is April 20th, but it is as easy as registering online here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Tags: City Council, James Edwards, PAIR, VP