I obviously was not fast enough in my attempt to register to vote in Oxford and had to cast my ballot down in Lewisham instead. As it turned out, I was down there anyway so in the end it was probably a more convenient arrangement for me anyway.
However, voting is not about convenience. I believe that the right to vote is so precious that it should be a duty of all British citizens and not just an option. If I had need to make time to find my polling station in Oxford before heading down to London, I would have done so.
Of course, if it was enacted as a duty, the ballot papers would need a “none of the above” option, even if that meant yet another section on what was an extraordinarily long form. In Lewisham, we only had a chance to vote in the European elections but there were so many options the paper was about 4′ long! I hope all of that gets recycled after counting!
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