When I went to vote this afternoon I was surprised that there were so few people at the polling station compared with previous years.
I remembered an article in the Guardian last year that suggested that the great British public were more likely to vote during a reality TV programme like Big Brother than in a general or local election.
I just wondered (politics aside) if other FM's felt the same?
Did you vote today? Have you ever voted in an eviction or other reality TV vote?
Why is it that more of us are likely to spend 10p or more voting on a TV show rather than vote for political reasons that may cost us our public services, dignity and some might say freedom of speech?
I'm not attempting to be controversial and polemic with political debate on a BB forum, I'm just curious about our motivation .
Last edited by Old Whore's Diet : 05-05-2006 at 00:24

Yes I did vote today. I always do.

I only vote on BB when my favourite housemate is up for eviction or sometimes in the final.

Id rather vote for Big Brother cause with the elections no matter who gets in there all the same there all a waste of space yet voteing on big brother is fun

This is sad but true "who says organisations says oligarchy"

No, I didn't vote today, but I always vote on BB (well, most of the time!)

I restrict myself to a £1.00 limit during the late stages or earlier (when i wanted to keep Science in)£2.00 maximum.

I didnt vote today, mainly because i dont feel strongly about any particular party, i have voted in the past.

I normally send at least one text vote for pretty much every eviction, obviously i know my vote isnt going to make a difference to the results but as a fan i like to have my say if that makes sense.
I dont vote religiously on other reality shows just bb

This is exactly the line of thought I had. Do you feel your Bb vote yields more results than your political one?
I totally agree sometimes even texting once absolves me and I feel I' ve said my piece.

I'm pretty sure such comparisons are always about the number of votes, rather than the number of voters. Of course, for elections those are the same (unless there's cheating), but for BB they aren't the same because multiple votes are allowed.

I don't think anyone knows how many different people vote in BB.

Voting in an election requires more work compared to picking up a phone and pushing a few buttons; and you have to do it during a specific time period. That may be part of it.

I think elections and BB both have the problem that it's sometimes so clear in advance who will win that a vote seems pointless.

I don't know where you live but where I do the marginal nature of the seat makes it quite exciting infact the only other people there were the police
I'm passionate about the voting process but alarmed by the issues that make most people vote..

I voted and always do. One point about that tired old statement about more people voting on BB (not blaming you as you are just repeating it), but it simple isnt true. They count the amount of votes on BB and compare it to the votes in an election. However you cant, as many votes on BB are repeat voters. You can only vote once in elections. The only way to tell would be to look at how many unique votes are made on BB.

Sorry I wasn't for one minute trying to perpetuate old theories. I''m just fascinated by the whole phenomena.

That is a bit odd. You'd think that in a marginal ...

Maybe people are unsure what they want to happen and are letting others decide? People may be unhappy with the government, but not be sure that want to see it hammered and the Tories do well, perhaps?

(It will be interesting to see how the turnout compares to other years.)

I know you werent and obviously I didnt say that well enough. I apologise that you took it that I was criticising you. Believe me I'm better when saying things rather than writing them.

By the way, on a point about the election, I think it should be against the law not to vote, unless you have a good reason (similiar to what happens in Australia). Too many people have died to preserve our rights not to bother.
As for BB I'll let others waste their money, but tend to follow the trends and have a bet on it.

I try to limit myself to 5 pounds when evicting Tony Blair

In a free country, no-one should be forced to do anything. I don't want police time wasted on chasing after people that didn't vote.... i want them catching real criminals.

I don't vote, because i find no-one worth voting for, i don't know enough about them... they only go around sticking leaflets through letterboxes

I wish I'd had that limit - I daren't think how many times I voted for Orlaith to leave that week. £20 wouldn't be overestimating it, I think! Saying that, I'd almost never voted on BB previously (or since!)

I don't vote in local elections as I don't find time to do the research. It appalls me though that people are influenced by the national debate in a local election. Charles Clarke cocked up so lets have a Tory in to decide whether the road past our house gets speed bumps!

Never vote in local elections, whatever the outcome its not likely to have a direct impact on me, but BB voting, now thats a different thing all together, that has a massive impact on me it makes me all

Because I work so closely with a particular Gvt Department I tend not to vote in any election as whatever happens in politics has less to do with those in power, and more to do with a whole bunch of other influences which don't change choose as who is in power. I didn't vote yesterday - I do usually vote on BB though as it is 100% more relevant to my life than whoever or whatever has political power.