DISTORTED

Former Director of Elections Orette Fisher believes Jamaica’s reported voter turnout is misleading, as the current voters’ list is significantly overinflated with names that should have been removed long ago.

Speaking with The Gleaner following Wednesday’s general election – which recorded a 39.5 per cent voter turnout – Fisher said the actual number of eligible voters is likely closer to 1.5 million, not the over two million currently on the list.

“The list should be updated regularly to remove people who have died or have migrated, but, instead, new registrations are added to the existing list,” he said.

He explained that, although electoral law mandates the removal of deceased or migrated persons, in practice, many of these names remain on the roll for years. This bloated list, he argues, significantly distorts the true turnout percentage.

“In the 2011 and 2016 elections, the voter turnout was the highest seen in Jamaica, but, since then, the turnout figures have decreased,” he said.

One reason, he said, is that since 1994, the voters roll continues to reflect people who should not be on there.

He said there has to be a proactive approach to the issue, highlighting that, in the past, door-to-door enumeration was conducted every four years to keep the list accurate – an exercise that has since been abandoned.

As a solution, Fisher proposed archiving outdated names as one method of cleaning the list, especially in cases where individuals have died overseas or permanently migrated – information not always accessible to the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ).

While not dismissing voter apathy as a factor, Fisher insists that the first step in addressing low turnout is an accurate voters’ list.

He also backed a suggestion made by Dr Basil Wilson, provost emeritus of John Jay College, who proposed designated voting days for specific groups – similar to what is done for security personnel and election day workers. For instance, elderly and disabled voters could be given a special voting day.

Fisher noted that such a change would require amendments to electoral law, but called the idea worth exploring.

However, he expressed skepticism about another of Wilson’s proposals – weekend voting, suggesting it may not be culturally or logistically suitable for Jamaica.

To address long waits at polling stations, Fisher proposed a two-line system to streamline the voting process. One line would cater to voters with proper identification, while the other would handle those requiring identity verification.

“Once the person’s identity is confirmed, then that voter joins the regular line to vote. This way, voters do not have to wait while the presiding officer verifies a voter identity while everyone else waits on line,” he said.

Fisher also touched on the need to engage younger voters, suggesting that online voting may be the way forward.

“This will not happen in my lifetime but it will be the way to go in the future,” he said.

However, he rejected the idea of automatic voter registration, warning that it could further inflate the voters’ list without addressing the issue of ineligible names.

editorial@gleanerjm.com