Persuade me to vote

Election time is at the heart of every democracy. Yet next week millions of potential voters are expected to stay away from the ballot box. Can you help change their minds?

Next week's "Super Thursday" - when votes are cast for the local council, European parliament and London assembly elections - will test public opinion ahead of the general election expected to be held in a year's time.

And we're asking you to persuade non-voters to try to change their minds by e-mailing us with your reasons.

First up are Carol Cooke, Martin Willoughby and Steve McQuillan, who have set out their reasons for giving the ballot paper a wide berth below.

CAROL COOKE

Age: 25
Occupation: Administrator
Lives in: Beccles, Suffolk

"I've voted only once, when I first became eligible, and that was for the novelty value of being able to do so. But I've never seen a reason to do so again. My response is probably due to not understanding any part of the political process, and how or why I should vote in the first place.

"I know that the Suffragettes fought to get women the vote, and that I should care more about my community, and who is out there fighting for it on my behalf. But none of it feels relevant or real to me. I just don't see how it will benefit me.

"I know this is a selfish response, but nowhere do we get told what has been achieved for our area/community/county in the past year."

MARTIN WILLOUGHBY

Age: 41
Occupation: Computer programmer
Lives in: Stevenage, Hertfordshire

"I can't remember the last time I voted, but it must be at least a decade ago. Since then I've considered what to do at each election: vote or not vote? The choice has become easier to make as time has gone on.

"Those who tell me that if I don't vote I have no right to complain do have a point - but how to vote if you don't like the options available?

"In the European elections, all three main parties seems intent on taking us all the way into the EU. And local elections are a waste of time - councils have been castrated by successive governments obsessed with central control.

"As the joke goes, 'It doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always gets in'."

STEVE MCQUILLAN

Age: 26
Occupation: Computer programmer
Lives in: The Wirral, Merseyside

"My faith in the current system was lost in the 1980s, with the entrenched Conservative government clinging onto victory, election after election.

"And elections these days seem more like voting for a board of directors; we, the people, are of secondary concern to balancing the books.

"Where I grew up, supporting a political party was more like voting for your favourite football team. No one knew what the policies were, they just knew Labour = poor, Tory = rich and Lib Dem = other.

"This is my main reason to not vote; people just blindly do as they've always done. Until the voter matures, I'll never vote.

"Politicians are no better - instead of outlining clear policies, they focus on discrediting the other parties. Yawn. To participate in democracy, I must feel that I can make a difference. But except in a mass protest, my voice remains unheard, unasked for and of little interest to those in power."

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Who would you like to persuade to vote? Or are you a non-voter yourself? Let us know, using the form below.