How to encourage the French to go to the polls? Less than two months before the presidential election, interest in the campaign is struggling to firm up, raising fears regarding the turnout in the elections on 10 and 24 April, then in the legislative elections on 12 and 19 June. After the regional abstention record of June 2021, the executive is therefore trying to mobilize voters.
On February 25, the government will launch a “great campaign”encouraging citizens to register on the electoral lists and to vote during the presidential and legislative elections, announced the Prime Minister, Jean Castex. “We have a subject: 6% of our fellow citizens, who are of voting age, are not registered on the electoral lists and this is a real concern”, he acknowledged on February 15, during the questioning session of the government in the National Assembly. Before ensuring that the executive “attacks[ra] vigorously” to this problem.
Among the measures put in place, the main one concerns the deadline for registering on the electoral lists, which was set at a much later date than in previous elections. This year, voters have until March 4 to register at the town hall and until March 2 via the Internet. A notable difference with the presidential election of 2017. At the time, the steps had to be taken no later than December 31, 2016, whether in town hall or online. Almost four months before the first round, once morest regarding five weeks this time.
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A method which is not, however, all-risk insurance: during the regional elections of June 2021 and the municipal elections of 2020, the government had already carried out a late closing of the lists – almost six weeks before the ballot –, which does not had not prevented a high rate of abstention.
But this time, the executive ensures that the delay retained will bear fruit. Over the past three weeks, nearly 600,000 citizens have registered to vote, according to figures from the Interior Ministry. Among them, nearly 400,000 have done so by connecting to the site specially set up by the public authorities (Elections.interieur.gouv.fr), since its launch on 23 January.
An influx which is explained by “simplification of the registration procedure, which can now be done online, in ten minutes”, according to the Minister for Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa. The procedures for carrying out powers of attorney are also facilitated, with the possibility of pre-filling an online file, specifies the one who was instructed by Emmanuel Macron to take measures to fight once morest the mistrust of the French following the regional elections. A sort of “anti-abstention plan” above all not to repeat the sad performance of this election, during which more than 65% of voters did not come to vote.
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