With one week to go, the UK prepares for its third annual National Voter Registration Drive
Bite The Ballot (‘BTB’) – in partnership with a host of collaborators – is coordinating a week of social action, calling on people to register to vote and begin to drive the political agenda by becoming active changemakers.
February 2015 saw BTB and Partners make history by leading the most successful registration drive (per capita) of any Western democracy. 441,696people registered to vote (90% online, 10% paper forms) in just one week of community and online democratic action. Approximately 750,000 visited the GOV.uk portal during the campaign, and the conversion rate was 74%.
Over 1-7 February 2016, BTB and Partners will coordinate the UK’s third annual Drive to get people registered on the electoral roll. With over a million names falling off the electoral register in December 2015, over 100 national and local elections taking place in May – and an increasingly likely EU referendum – 2016’s campaign couldn’t be more timely.
Michael Sani, BTB Chief Exec, said: “With as many as 10 million people missing from the register, we’re excluding communities and young citizens from democracy. NVRD is a collaboration of determined individuals, using voter registration as one step in creating a society where every citizen is inspired and empowered to become a changemaker.”
The aim of NVRD 2016 is to target people who are less likely to have ever been registered – as well as those who (are unaware they) may have recently fallen off the roll. Through online engagement and on-the-ground activities, NVRD will raise awareness about the benefits of being registered, and inspire people and communities to #TakePower and play a collective role in democratic decision-making.
BTB will be working with a cross-section of grassroots, charity and not-for-profit organisations to deliver NVRD, including:
- Graduates of The Challenge NCS programmes, who played ‘The Basics’ and registered to vote during spring, summer and autumn residentials, will now facilitate the workshop in the heart of their communities.
- National Union of Teachers’ members will be running sessions of ‘The Basics’ in schools, colleges and sixth forms across England and Wales.
- Centrepoint Parliament will be registering residents in Centrepoint accommodation by holding interactive democracy workshops.
- National Union of Students is supporting member SUs through a coordinated social media campaign and the offer of funding to SUs to run voter registration rallies.
- Three Faiths Forum Parliamentors will be running voter registration stalls at universities to engage multiple faith groups.
- Youth Community Support Agency will be registering young black and minority ethnic citizens in Glasgow as part of their work supporting underrepresented groups.
- Projecting an image of #NVRD on to the National Assembly for Wales to launch the ‘Wales2016’ campaign, including a session of ‘The Basics’ led by BTB Partner, Youth Cymru.
Supporters
- Jamal Edwards MBE (founder, SBTV) said: “NVRD 2016 marks my third year being involved with BTB. Although we have registered lots of people, the work continues because we have so many young people still not on the electoral register. We need to change this, so get involved in NVRD this week and let’s make history. If you’re like me, and still learning about politics, then just take the first step and register: then we can go on this journey together. I’m calling on my ‘Self Believers’ to get involved – register to vote!“
- Yasmin Waljee OBE (Chair, Bite The Ballot Board and Pro Bono Director, Hogan Lovells) said: “We’re pleased to continue to support the fantastic work being done by BTB to improve the number of young people engaged in our democracy. We need to be sure that everyone – particularly those whose future could be changed dramatically – gets a chance to have their say. This year sees the third annual NVRD, an event that empowers a host of individuals volunteers from the public and private sectors to get young people registered to vote through a week of coordinated, UK-wide acts celebrating the benefits of registering. BTB’s education tools, ‘The Basics’, are dynamic and easy to use and can be delivered by volunteers in schools, community centres, colleges, businesses and youth clubs.”
- Charlotte Hill (CEO, Step Up To Serve) said: “I’m very pleased to be supporting the 2016 National Voter Registration Drive. Political engagement can be a fantastic and meaningful outcome of youth social action, once young people feel they have a stake in their community, they’re much more engaged in who runs it and how decisions are made. #iWill campaign supporters Bite The Ballot have done a brilliant job in working to engage, inform and inspire people to register to vote and become active citizens.”
Notes
- Bite The Ballot (‘BTB’) is a party-neutral, youth movement on a mission to engage, inform and inspire people (primarily 25 and under) to participate in democracy, creating a stronger and more equal society by becoming active changemakers.
- BTB’s NVRD campaigns saw over 50,000 people register to vote in 2014, and 441,696 people during 2015.
- Half of 18-24 year olds claimed that they had not registered to vote by March 2015.
- 43% of 18-24 year olds voted in the General Election 2015 (the lowest turnout of all age demographics).
- BTB was recently awarded the ‘Democratic Innovation’ award by the Political Studies Association.
Media
- You can follow the action on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat at @BiteTheBallot, #NVRD and #TakePower.
- Contact BTB HQ via phone (0330 113 8428) or e-mail (press@bitetheballot.co.uk) with requests for media appearances.
- See here for the official NVRD logo and here for a downloadable version of this release.
- And for full details of the campaign, visit www.nvrd.co.uk.