Bite The Ballot
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Founded | 2010, Dartford, United Kingdom |
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Focus | Youth voting, voter registration |
Location |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
Method | Online mobilisation, grassroots organising, policy making |
Website | bitetheballot.co.uk |
Bite The Ballot (BTB) is a party-neutral movement, based in the United Kingdom. Its mission is to empower young people to evolve UK democracy.
BTB was formed in April 2010[1] by business studies teacher David Hughesman and Michael Sani, along with other staff and students, at Wilmington Enterprise College in Dartford. As a youth-led project, the students’ mission was to rebrand politics and prove that young people do care about improving democracy.[2]
Contents
Timeline
2010: Bite The Ballot was formed.
2012: In April, Bite The Ballot organised the UK’s first youth voter registration rally [3] at the Ministry of Sound. The event [4] was organised in collaboration with UpRise, Reprezent Radio, Spirit of London Awards and The Media Trust. The event resulted in 379 individuals being registered to vote.[citation needed] The event was attended by four of the 2012 London mayoral candidates; Brian Paddick[5] Liberal Democrats, Jenny Jones (Green politician) Green Party of England and Wales, Ken Livingstone Labour Party (UK) and the independent candidate, Siobhan Benita. The organisation also launched Inspired Impressions[6] - a UK-based art competition. The winning pieces were displayed in the UK Parliament. Later that year, ‘Rock Enrol!’ was created[7] as part of a pilot project with the Cabinet Office's Democratic Engagement Team. This was then digitalized into the educational resource ‘The Basics’.[8]
2013: Bite The Ballot launches My Manifesto,[9] a research and engagement project that aimed to champion policies that people aged 16–25 identified as being significant. The results were shared with the political parties at a launch event in parliament.[citation needed]
2014: Following the success in 2012, Bite The Ballot wins the European Charlemagne Youth Prize for Inspired impressions.[10] In February, Bite The Ballot launched the UK’s inaugural National Voter Registration Day (UK)[11] registering an estimated 50,000[citation needed] people in one day. Later that year Bite The Ballot launched '#TheAmendment' campaign[citation needed] to improve voter registration in Wales. In November, Bite The Ballot, along with ITV News and Twitter UK, hosted a live Q&A session with the main party leaders - Natalie Bennett, Nigel Farage MEP, Nick Clegg MP and Ed Miliband MP - the series is called Leaders Live[12]
2015: Ran the second annual National Voter Registration Drive, during the week of 2–8 February 2015, 441,500 people registered[13] to vote.
National Voter Registration Day (UK)
Inspired by the USA’s Rock The Vote, Bite The Ballot created and launched the UK's first[14] National Voter Registration Day. The inaugural National Voter Registration Day was held on 5 February 2014, as this is the anniversary of the Great Reform Act 1832. The inaugural year saw an estimated 50,000 people[citation needed] registered to vote. During the week of 2–8 February 2015, 441,500 people registered to vote, including 166,000[15] on February 5, 2015 alone.[16]
Leaders Live
Bite The Ballot created the first live-streamed policy Q&A sessions with the main political party leaders. The project was partnered by ITV News and Twitter UK.
The interviews took place over a six-week period in late 2014:
- Natalie Bennett the Green Party of England and Wales - 26 November 2014 [17]
- Nigel Farage MEP UK Independence Party - 2 December 2014[18]
- Ed Miliband MP Labour Party (UK) - 8 December 2014[19]
- Nick Clegg MP Liberal Democrats - 16 December 2014[20]
Leaders Live Controversy & Leaders Pledges
Nigel Farage MEP made a series of comments contradicting existing UKIP policy on sex and relationships education during the live debate.[21] Ed Miliband MP pledged to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote from May 2016.[22] In January 2015, Bite The Ballot received confirmation[23] from 10 Downing Street that David Cameron MP would not be taking part in Leaders Live[24] sparking a campaign calling for the Prime Minister to reconsider.
Celebrity Endorsement
Jamal Edwards, founder of SB.TV, is a long-standing Bite The Ballot ambassador[25] backing the cause on numerous occasions.[26][27][28] Other notable supporters include Laura Whitmore, Eliza Doolittle (singer) and Max Rushden. Presenter Rick Edwards hosted the first two Leaders Live shows[29] and has worked on a joint crowd funding project[30] to raise funds for Bite The Ballot’s voting advice application. YouTuber creators such as JacksGap and Rebecca Jane Brown have also played a key role in inspiring youth engagement with Bite The Ballot.
Funding
Current and past funders[31] include the British Council the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust [32] the Open Society Foundations the Franks Family Foundation and Unbound Philanthropy.
References
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- ↑ http://bitetheballot.co.uk/the-basics/
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- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32401218
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