States of Jersey Voter Engagement Survey

A survey of adults living in Jersey via telephone on voting engagement

Whilst 67% of adults say they are interested in Jersey politics, those aged 55+ are more likely to have voted in Jersey’s 2018 General Election than those aged 16-34, with a 73% and 32% turnout respectively
Half of 16-34 year olds say they aren’t interested in Jersey politics (51%) – this is significantly higher than the other age groups (35-54 28% vs 55+ 24%)

The top five reasons non-voters give for not voting in Jersey’s 2018 General Election are:

Couldn’t get to a polling station (23%)
Not interested in the election (11%)
Didn’t know enough about the candidates (11%)
Unsatisfied with the quality of the candidates (10%)
Deliberately decided not to vote (9%)

The top five changes respondents suggest to make them more likely to vote in the next election are:

Candidates who better represent my values and the things that are important to me (84%)
Evidence that election representatives can make a real difference in the community (84%)
Being able to vote online (69%)
Ability to rank candidates on the ballot paper (from least to most preferred) (64%)
Better access to information about the candidates and their policies (62%)

74% and 67% of voters and non-voters, respectively, agree that The States should do more to boost voter registration.
A substantial proportion of voters and non-voters also say, 48% and 41% respectively, that a change to a political party system instead of individual candidates would make them more likely to vote in the next election.

Date Published: 22/11/2018

Categories: Politics | Public and communities | UK

Client: States of Jersey

Methodology

ComRes surveyed 1,006 adults living in Jersey via telephone between 22nd August and 20th September 2018. Data were weighted by age and gender, and broadly representative by parish. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.