Winter election: What difference does it make?

[BooScout]

So the experts say weather isn't a deterrent to voting? Tell that to the Scots who are very likely to have to make their way through 2 feet of snow in mid-December.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50182015

Winter election: What difference does it make?

On Monday, MPs are expected to consider the prime minister's call for an election on 12 December. UK elections usually take place in May or June - the last December election was in 1923 - so what difference might a winter election make?

Are all the polling stations booked up?
Elections are huge organisational feats. Millions of polling cards have to be distributed. Postal votes need to be sent. And thousands of school halls, churches and community centres have to be booked to be used as polling stations.

The worry is that lots of these locations will already be booked up in mid-December for Christmas events.

(More) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50182015

[T_i_B]

1. I would imagine that bad weather and long nights...

....deter some from voting and persuade others that things are miserable so not to vote for the status quo.

[abqtommy]

2. To a True Scot 2 feet o' snow is only a wee bit. I used to vote here in Albuquerque in a

church building that was designated a polling place so I don't quite understand the worry over all this.
Just give them an election, already. The rest is up to them.

[BooScout]

3. Seriously?

They're speculating people will be standing outside in the cold and damp and voting in tents. People walk to the polls over here, not hop in their cars and drive. The worry is...there's a reason elections are held in fair weather months. I'm sure the OAPs (Old Age Pensioners for Americans who don't know what that stands for) will love trudging through the mud and slush and voting in the fresh air.

[abqtommy]

4. I kid you not. A bit of history I picked up on the German military perspective of their adversaries

during WWII is this: When the Germans were faced with Scottish troops they knew to expect the Scots to attack at dawn following a night when the pipers played all night long. The Scots were the enemy that the Germans respected the most since the Germans knew that in any such attack many Germans would die. In light of that history I can feel empathy for anyone going out to vote in the cold or slushy, muddy snow but I can't see it being an impediment for any Scot wanting to show BOJO what's what.
That's all. I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time but I hope not. Sarcasm is not a winning argument to use against me...got anything better?

[BooScout]

5. Yeah...

How much time have you spent in the UK?

[abqtommy]

6. I was in London when I was 5 years old (in 1955, January and February, with my parents).

I have genetic history in Sussex. I read a lot and am quite empathetic. I read the Guardian online every day so I know some of the major players in the Brexit Bollocks. Time doesn't permit me to say much more. Don't you realize that if a person is online they've got all the information they need to develop opinions?

Actually I was thinking about this while I was playing online solitaire and I started wondering about who exactly it is that is concerned about the Scots out voting in the snow. Is BOJO concerned? Rees-Mogg? Nigel Farage? "Tommy Robinson"? I don't think they're concerned at all.

But it did occur to me that messaging concerning how disastrous a winter election could be might just be psy-ops/a bot-driven influence campaign/dirty tricks. Whaddya think?

So I'll just leave it there. My experience and intuition inform my opinions, and I'm right more often than not. I have productive intuition and that's why I'm still communicating with you.

[Denzil_DC]

7. Bad weather suppresses the non-Tory vote.

That's just an unfortunate fact of life well known to anyone who's been involved on the ground in UK election campaigns, especially in Scotland.

I don't usually disregard experts, but the uncited ones the BBC seems to have found evidently haven't tried getting out the vote on a council scheme on a gloomy, rainy Thursday night.

[BooScout]

8. Especially when it's ' night' at 3pm

[Denzil_DC]

9. It's not just the day of the vote.

People are much less inclined to open their doors to canvassers or spend much time on the doorstep after dark. It's also more dangerous for canvassers.

If you allow people some time to get home from work, unwind and converse a little, maybe eat, there's a very small window of acceptable opportunity in the evening.

And never ring a doorbell when one of the major soaps or a big sporting event is on!

[BooScout]

10. Don't mess with my Corrie!

[LeftishBrit]

11. It is likely to make a difference to turnout

People are less likely to get out if it's cold and wet and dark, and especially if they have to battle through snow and ice. The research on association between weather and voting is not terribly relevant here, because there hasn't been a midwinter election in most people's lifetimes. The difference between a sunny June day and a drizzly October day is much less than the difference between either of these and an icy December day when it becomes dark in mid-afternoon.

Moreover, not only may Christmas events cause there to be No Room at the... Usual Polling Station; the ever-more-stressful preparations for Christmas are likely to preoccupy many voters and put voting to the back of their minds.

Also, the timing will disperse students and may make it more difficult for them to vote (they may have registered at uni, but not in their home area yet) and certainly to make their votes count as blocs in particular constituencies (mine for instance). I would not be surprised if this was in Boris' mind when he suggested that date. If so, he neglected to note that icy weather will also make voting more difficult for elderly people, who tend to vote Tory.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. I've just thought - under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, this makes future elections

in December too, until a vote of no confidence or 2/3rds majority for an early one.