Why vote?

I'm sure there are lots of people out there, both on campuses around the country and in wider society, that ask the question - "Why Vote?".

As I've grown up, I've never seen a reason not to vote - it seems like the natural (and easiest) way to have your say in how your country/council/student union/whatever else may be run. As we have the elections for the Officer Team 09/10 take place NEXT WEEK, from Monday 9th @ 9am until Friday 13th @ 12pm, I thought I'd give you some reasons as to why you should vote in these elections...

*Voting should be based on policies, and you should vote for the policies you most agree with, not because someone is your friend. The candidate that has the most popular policies with the people who vote will win - so if more people vote, the more representative the winners will be, and if policies are achieved, then the happier students will be with the Guild.

*If you moan about stuff, and think it can be changed - then vote - because if you haven't, you technically haven't bothered to have your say. When you vote you can spoil the ballot - and this is an option on our e-voting system!

*On a local and national level, it keeps facist groups such as the BNP out of controlling our councils - something vital in order to protect the rights of our citizens.

*it hardly takes any time at all and can be done at any time on any computer - all you need is your my.bham login.

So there are some reasons why you should vote - and I hope you do next week for those who are going to run your guild and represent you in the 09/10 academic year.

Voting is through my.bham, it opens on March 9th at 9am and closes on March 13th at 12pm.