Girlguiding Introduce Voting Badge!

The UK’s Girlguiding charity has announced that it will be introducing a ‘Voting badge’ to mark the centenary of some women gaining the right to vote!

The badge will encourage participants to “get vocal about voting, positive about politics, challenge yourself to inspire others, and think creatively about what your ideal political landscape would look like.”

In the year that marks 100 years since some women got the right to vote, we’re excited to launch a Voting badge for Rangers. #EveryGirl should have a chance to learn about voting and democracy! https://t.co/iZItJ426W3 #Vote100 pic.twitter.com/3kH2lTE4gv

— Girlguiding (@Girlguiding) July 21, 2018

Founder of Voting Counts, Rachael, said “It’s fantastic to see charities and organisations that work with young adults and children, such as Girlguiding, getting their members engaged with politics. It’s essential that we all learn about the importance of engagement from a young age to ensure voting remains a life long habit!”

To get the badge, there are first a number of activities to take part in, including creating their own political party, tackling voter apathy and registering to vote. We’ve included the full information below, but you can learn more on the Girlguiding website.

1. Create your own party

Political parties are made up of people with similar beliefs, and a shared vision of the future.

There are some large and well-known ones out there, but imagine if you could create your own party from scratch…

What would your ideal political party look like? Be inventive with the way you record your ideas –  take a look at the suggestions on this page for inspiration.

Decide:

• What will your party be called?
• What level of politics will it function within (local, regional, national)?
• What are its top three issues?
• Who, if anyone, will lead the party?
• What is its logo and slogan?
• How would you run an election campaign?
• Who would want to become members and how would you recruit them?
• Which parties would be your main rivals?

2. Tackle voter apathy

The right to vote has been hard-won over many generations. However, voter apathy – lack of interest in voting – is still high. And voting turnout for younger people is often poor.

Your challenge is to come up with a way to tackle voter apathy.

 You could create a resource for young people about political parties and leaders, or a campaign to encourage people to register to vote. Create a presentation, video, social media campaign or even hold an event to encourage young people to get involved in politics. The choice is yours!

3. Get registered

You don’t have to wait until you’re old enough to put an ‘x’ on the ballot paper to actually register to vote.

Find out if you’re eligible to vote and how old you have to be to register. Are you old enough? Get registered! If you aren’t old enough yet, wait and register at the earliest opportunity. You have to register to vote before you can complete this badge.

Now, your task is to get as many young people as you can to register to vote. Use the resource you created in challenge two to help you.

Learn more: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/our-badges-and-activities/badge-finder/voting/