Students are being urged to cast their vote in the most important poll for their generation when the EU Referendum takes place on 23 June.
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has two polling stations at the Confucius Institute and the Watershed, part of Leicester City Council’s network of stations being run for the Referendum.
People have until 7 June to register to vote and a huge campaign is under way by Universities UK to ensure as many students as possible sign up. Nationally, up to four million 18-24 year olds are still not on the electoral register.
Today, Wednesday 18 May, UUK is calling on all students to ensure they are registered to vote. You can sign up in seconds by just clicking here.
Students who are unsure where they’ll be on Thursday 23 June or can’t get to a polling station, can apply for a postal vote or a proxy vote once they’ve registered. Deadlines are 5pm on Wednesday 8 June to apply for a postal vote or 5pm on Wednesday 15 June to apply for a proxy vote.
The Remain campaign, which launched at DMU last month, believes that the youth vote is crucial to Britain staying part of the EU. Younger voters are far more likely than older Eurosceptic voters to vote Remain – but older voters are more likely to turn out on 23 June.
Keira Rounsley, De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU)’s vice-president Welfare and Community, urged students to use their voice.
She said: “It’s so important for us young people to vote, we’re given a voice so let’s use it! My motto is, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain about the outcome. The EU referendum could see our lives change so it’s crucial you have your say.”
Lynette Williams, Executive Officer, Student and Academic Services, said: “It’s absolutely crucial that students vote in this potentially once in a lifetime opportunity on the UK’s membership of the EU. I can’t think of anything else that could have such a drastic effect on our future, but which you actively have the opportunity to do something about.
“There’s no doubt the repercussions of this historic vote will be felt for many years, so make sure you’re registered to vote, and don’t lose your opportunity to have your say.”
Last night, Channel 4 News broadcast a live TV debate on the EU Referendum to air the views of those who want the UK to leave the EU and those who want to stay. Both the panel and the audience came from black and minority ethnic backgrounds – a key audience for politicians from both sides as polls continue to remain close.
This year DMU’s Department of Politics and Public Policy is running 100 Ideas for Europe, a campaign to involve students in the debate. Politics students have been gathering people’s views and finding out the questions they want to be answered in the run-up to the vote.
It surveyed 700 people in Leicester as part of the project asking nine questions about the EU. Of those who answered, 70% said they would want to remain part of the EU – but those over 55 were more likely to say they will vote Leave.
Posted on Wednesday 18 May 2016