The campaign does not hang on and the risk of seeing the share of abstentionists growing is there. The public authorities orchestrate, as of February 25, a series of initiatives to bring the French closer to the polls, especially young people.
by
How to encourage the French to go to the polls? Less than two months of the presidential election, the interest in the campaign struggles to strengthen, causing fears about the participation rate at the vote on April 10 and 24, and then during the legislatures of 12 and 19 June. After the regional abstention record of June 2021, the executive tries to mobilize voters.
On February 25, the government will launch a “big campaign”, encouraging citizens to register on the electoral lists and vote during the presidential election and the legislative, announced the Prime Minister Jean Castex. “We have a topic: 6% of our fellow citizens, who are of voting age, are not registered on the electoral lists and it is a real concern,” he recognized on February 15, at the meeting. questions to the government, at the National Assembly. Before ensuring that the executive “tackles [RA] energetically” to this problem.
Among the measures put in place, the main concerns the deadline to register on the electoral lists, which has been fixed at a much later date than in previous polls. This year, voters have until March 4th to enroll in town hall and until March 2 via the Internet. A noticeable difference with the 2017 presidential election. At the time, the approaches were to be made no later than December 31, 2016, whether in town hall or online. Nearly four months before the first round, compared to about five weeks this time.
600 000 registered in three weeks
A method that is not all risky insurance: during the June 2021 regional elections and 2020 municipal elections, the government had already proceeded to a late closing of the lists – nearly six weeks before the ballot -, What had not prevented a high rate of abstention.
But this time, the Executive ensures that the delay will bear fruit. In the last three weeks, nearly 600,000 citizens have registered on the electoral lists, according to the figures of the Ministry of the Interior. Among them, nearly 400,000 have done it by connecting to the site made specially in place by the public authorities (elections.interieur.gouv.fr), since its launch on January 23rd.
An influx that can be explained by “the simplification of the registration procedure, which can now be done online, in ten minutes”, according to the Minister Delegate to Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa. The steps to carry out proxies are also facilitated, with the possibility of pre-filling an online file, specifies the one that was charged by Emmanuel Macron to take steps to fight against the distrust of the French following the regional elections. A sort of “antiacings” to do not reissue the sad performance of this vote, where more than 65% of voters have not moved to vote.
You have 55.05% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.