Voter Turnout

They say you need to take risks in life to achieve anything. Well, with three days until the election that’s exactly what 38 Degrees members are about to do.

Right now, we’re gearing up to try something truly groundbreaking. We’re going to try to rescue our democracy this General Election by launching the biggest voter turnout campaign the UK has ever seen. [1] And we’re going to do it by targeting people who are less likely to vote, whose voices are rarely heard in elections. [2]

It’s a bold move. And yes, it’s risky. It’s going to cost £75,000 to pull off. But with the sheer scale of what’s at stake this election, it’s never been more necessary to be bold. There are millions of us reading this email today – but this will only work if enough of us step up and donate a few pounds.

We urgently need to raise £75,000 in the next few days to pull off the UK’s biggest ever voter turnout campaign. Will you chip in just £5 now so we can get started tomorrow morning? (Donating takes two minutes):

Chip in

The change this could make is huge. Imagine an MP walking into Parliament on their first day knowing that they had to represent young students and retired people equally; families who just bought their first house and those who need help while they’re recovering from an illness. That can only happen if more people use their vote.

Our plan to make that happen sounds simple, but it’s going to be a mammoth task to pull it off. We’re building a state-of-the-art app to bust the myths that stop people voting, tell them why voting would make a difference in their lives, and help them make a plan. Then we’ll splash out on ads to get it everywhere – and help fund groups on the ground to reach people in their communities.

A lot of us reading this might already be planning to use our vote. But if everyone reading this email put in a fiver, we’d raise the money we need in less than a day. Then, we can throw everything we have at this plan and help other people find their voice.

So, will you chip in £1, a fiver, a tenner, or more, to help rescue our democracy? Please donate now to help launch our groundbreaking voter turnout campaign:

Chip in

NOTES:
[1]  Our voter turnout efforts will be non partisan, and impartial – running in all constituencies across the UK. Voter turnout is the phrase used for how many people show up to vote each election. For a bit of context, according to the Electoral Commission and Parliament’s records, the lowest turnout in a general election was recorded in 1918 at 57.2%, due to the end of the First World War. Between 1922 and 1997 turnout remained above 71%. At the 2001 general election the turnout was 59.4%; in 2005 it was 61.4%; in 2010 it was 65.1%; and in 2015 it was 66.1%. For more detail, the House of Commons library has lots of information and graphs on turnout:
https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-8060
[2] This report, released in October this year, analyses the various groups – like young people and BME people – who are less likely to vote:
House of Commons library: Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged?:
https://files.38degrees.org.uk/items/files/000/002/630/original/CBP-7501_%281%29.pdf