#Votingmatters – Now’s the time!

#V O T I N G M A T T E R S   –  N O W ‘ S   T H E   T I M E !

 

The UK general election takes place on Thursday 7th May and the @Emilymatters team wants to encourage as many young people and women to vote as possible.

 

The outcome of this election remains uncertain. Every vote matters.

 

The good news is that 70% of young people are reported to have registered to vote, but voter turn out cannot be taken for granted. In 2010, just 39% of young women aged 18 to 24 voted and 9.1 million women chose not to vote.

I believe that social media has had a immensely positive impact on the number of voter registrations, especially for first time voters. But people still need to vote.

 

Powerful legacy: the bravery of Emily Davison & her sister suffragettes in campaigning for the right to vote still resonates today.

@Emilymatters is a social media campaign, inspired by Emily Davison, to support and advance gender equality, particularly focusing on the importance of voting.

Please join the #Votingmatters campaign this week and celebrate our right to vote, that Emily fought so hard for us to have, which is still denied to many around the world, including the women of Afghanistan who are prepared to risk their lives to cast their votes.

Here’s some suggestions about how you can get involved, most importantly VOTE & vote early if you can:

• Add our #Votingmatters campaign Twibbon to show that voting matters to you – whether or not you’re eligible to vote in this election.

 

• Wear the suffragette colours: purple, white & green.

• Do the suffragettes proud & celebrate with friends & family – get a group of you together to go and vote.
  Then after you’ve voted:- Tweet @Emilymatters your group photo/selfie outside your local polling station
  – Please hold a sheet with #Votingmatters and include #vmparty in your tweet to us @Emilymatters.
  – You can make your own or get a #Votingmatters sheet here:

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Wherever you live & whatever your age, if you believe #Votingmatters,
I’d love you to add your support and get involved!

 

It would be great to hear from you.

Shortly after election day we’ll create a #vmparty storify.

Join the conversation now by following @Emilymatters on Twitter.

 

For more information about the general election, including the practicalities of voting in person on 7th May, see our #GE2015 Toolkit.

 

So tweet, post & talk about why #votingmatters to you and encourage others to make their voices heard at the general election.

And if any of your friends or family still think that their vote doesn’t matter, especially if they live in a ‘safe seat’ constituency, tell them this:

 

By voting, not only will you do suffragette Emily Davison proud, you’ll also send a message loud and clear to the next government that young people and women matter. And the more of you who vote, the more they will have to listen.

 

Thank you to everyone who has supported this work over the past year and to Amanda, Ayath, Chloe, Jack, Kirsty and Mev who are core members of the @Emilymatters team.

As the UK general election draws ever nearer, please add your support and spread the word: #Votingmatters!

 

Kate Willoughby
Actor & Writer of Emily Wilding Davison play To Freedom’s Cause

 

Our #Votingmatters campaign Twibbon was inspired by this original suffragette sash:

 

A rising tide carries all votes!