Hector Said:

when my son turned 18 he had to register with the postal service does that mean he is registered to vote?

We Answered:

No, he is registered for the Selective Service, in case the draft is ever reinstated, he will be eligible for the draft. You have to go to your county clerk's office and register to vote. In my county in Arkansas.

Stella Said:

I haven't received my postal ballot papers yet?

We Answered:

I've already had mine and posted it back. I think you should ring your local council

Joe Said:

In view of the 'Why do people hate Blair' question, we should be asking why the apathy in British politics?

We Answered:

I think people are disillusioned with politics because they don't see the link between the 'punch and judy' show and their daily lives. They also feel powerless to change things - they don't see their opinions voiced.

I go canvassing for a political party and he message I get from the people who say they won't vote is usually that there's no point because it won't change anything.

Our electoral system doesn't help because with first past the post voting and more than two parties, a person voted for by a minority can be elected (like the current government, who only got 40%ish at the last election). 60% of the population were ignored by the system. The political parties are also not helpful in that they carry on point-scoring rather than delivering policy, HOWEVER, the newspapers in this country encourage that by concentrating on those kind of exchanges in Prime Minister's Question Time. Policy-making committees may be more 'relevant', but they're not so exciting on TV.

The one thing I would like to see to encourage more people to vote is reducing the voting age to 16. If we can work with schools to get their pupils on the electoral register before they leave, and give them an idea of how the political system works, I really believe they will vote in large numbers. I think this because I've been involved in lots of school projects where they have held mock-elections. They are incredibly popular, and young people take them very seriously. I've seen young people holding debates, discussing the manifestos of the different political parties and even writing and distributing leaflets. How many older adults read the parties' manifestos? Not many! The problem is that all that enthusiasm is allowed to lapse before they finally get to their voting age (yes I know sixth forms have them until 18, but not all young people stay at school that long).

If we want to reinvigorate democracy in the UK, we have to give young people a voice. If they're old enough to pay tax at 16, they're old enough to decide how its spent.