vote if you can

Over the past few weeks I’ve received a brightly-coloured stream of pamphlets and brochures for the political hopefuls angling for the three Seanad seats that are voted for by graduates of the National Universities of Ireland.

This Irish political institution might be archaic, but I’d urge everyone who has registered to cast his/her ballot in the election. My understanding is that only one in eight graduates are even registered, and less than that bother to vote. Today I received my ballot via registered mail. Luckily I was at home to get it. Those of you who weren’t at home should note that the Post Office will only hold onto your ballot for five days. After that it will be returned to NUI head office.

The poll closes at 11am on Tuesday, 24th July, 2007 (a strange time and date), and because it is so far distant it’s easy to forget. Why not cast your vote immediately?

I’m going to scan through the literature sent to me by the candidates and vote in the next day or two. At least most of the candidates now have websites, some of them even have blogs, and several have uploaded clips on YouTube. There are 24 aspirants on the NUI ballot, so even a little bit of research is going to take some time, but it’s part of being involved in the political process.