5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of compulsory voting? OAQ(5)0643(FM)

We are not in favour of compulsory voting. As a Government, of course, we’ve taken a position that in Assembly elections we want to see 16 to 18-year-olds voting, but we’re not in favour of compulsory voting.

I thank the First Minister for that answer. And on the subject of voting, I thank him for his leadership of the Welsh Labour election campaign, which, in contrast to that of the party opposite, was both strong and stable. [Interruption.] Another feature of the campaign was an increase in turnout, and yet one in three people did not vote. Compulsory voting is no substitute for political engagement or political education, but as well as being a right that people have fought for and died for, it can also be seen as a civic obligation that we owe one to another. As the Welsh Government and the National Assembly consider voting arrangements in the future, notwithstanding the Welsh Government’s position, will he ensure that the experience of Australia and Belgium is taken into full account, and that of other countries where that civic obligation has been enshrined in law?

We will consider that. I have to say I sometimes consider compulsory voting to be a form of cop-out for politicians. It’s all our responsibility, collectively, to increase turnout. We’ll never get—. They don’t even get to 100 per cent in the countries where there’s compulsory voting. What I saw on Thursday was a huge increase in the numbers of young people voting. At 10 o’clock on the Thursday morning, I could see that something unusual was happening in terms of the turnout. So, from my perspective, it was marvellous to see young people coming out to vote in the numbers that they did. I hope that continues in the future, because it was never good for society for a view to take hold that older people vote and younger people don’t. I’m glad that younger people have found their voice.

First Minister, can I say that, like you, I’m glad that the voter turnout last Thursday was much closer to the historic trend that we’ve had in the United Kingdom, and that is something that we should all be very grateful for? One thing that’s always struck me as very peculiar is why we vote on a Thursday. There have been a couple of occasions in the twentieth century where general elections were held on Tuesdays, but why don’t we vote, like most countries around the world, over the weekend? That, surely, would be a great way of ensuring that as many citizens as possible have every opportunity to get to the voting booth.

There’s no reason why it should be a Thursday. In fact, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t look at weekend voting. Sunday is still problematic. I don’t think the DUP will be pressing for that in the discussions that they have with the Conservative Government, as sabbatarians. [Laughter.] Indeed, the western isles of Scotland—people there will have a view on that. I think Sunday voting, therefore, is still difficult in some parts of the UK, but there’s no reason why people shouldn’t vote on a Saturday, for example, when most people are not in work and when voting might be easier. That’s something to consider as an institution in the years to come.

We have no figures, of course—although some figures have been quoted, there are no figures on how many young people voted last week. But like you, I did feel that more young people were turning out to vote in west Wales, and I’m particularly pleased that the youngest Member of Parliament, Ben Lake, is a Member for Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion. Certainly, Ben Lake got a lot of young farmers helping him out during his campaign. But, in looking at how we keep this young vote, and short of compulsory voting, what else can we do? Yes, voting on different days, perhaps, but isn’t it also time to break this link that you have to cast your ballot in one place? In an electronic age, shouldn’t it be possible for anyone to vote wherever they are in Wales for the candidate that they prefer?

Well, there is no reason, in principle, why digital voting shouldn’t take place. There are some practical security issues, I understand, which would make it very difficult at the moment, but there’s no reason why, ultimately, it shouldn’t happen. At one time, everybody in this Chamber saw the voting day as the day on which you had to get everybody out to vote, but that’s not the case any longer, as so many people vote through the post. So, in principle, there’s no reason why the system should remain the same, because one of the things I did notice last week was the fact that young people are being inspired to vote because of social media. That’s where they get their news, and groups of them decided to vote. So, it’s all important that we consider, when the time is right, digital voting.