Blindfolded Voting

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Published on Friday, 04 November 2011 12:32

Written by Leen Remmelzwaal

This year I was expectant. The SRC voting stations were set up around campus again – really elegant, well-organized stands. Manning each station was a selection of eager, bright-eyed student representatives grabbing people by the collar to tick a box. Every morning and evening, voting ballots and fliers littered the floors and walls around Jammie steps and served as a gentle reminder that another “season of change” was upon us.

The right to a democratic vote has become a symbol of freedom and hope for many people around the world. Those without it, cry for it. Those who are fighting for it, can taste it. But for those of us who bathe in the freedom fought for us by our forefathers, how many of us actually know what we are voting for?

Voting is more than a right: it is a duty, but not just for the constituents. The SRC have a duty too – and not just to provide us with the opportunity to vote. The SRC has a duty to provide us with relevant, comparative information on our candidates so that we can make an informed choice. Voting was never intended to be about choosing a pretty face, but rather about carefully supporting the values for which a representative stands.

Here at UCT, we can pride ourselves on being an educated (or at least emerging) community of critical thinkers. So why are we patronised with a list of faces to choose from, instead of a list of values and principles? A voting ballot, with a list of core values instead of a smiling face, would serve a community with the opportunity to make an educated vote.

On my way to teach a class a student representative caught me, and asked if I had voted. Don’t get me wrong – I would love to vote. I had 5 minutes, and even a pen. But he handed me the ballot sheet, and I looked down. There, looking back at me was a team of smiling faces. My own smile faded; I was hoping to find an anonymous shortlist of values, principles and intentions, rather than a page of profile pictures.

I simply replied: “Not this year. I'm really not interested in voting for the prettiest face.” As he dropped behind my stride, disappointed, I noticed another wall poster – another smile promising a “vote for change”. What change? Tell me what values and principles I am voting for and I will give you 5 minutes of my time.