Weekend election proposed to boost voter turnout

The proposed change comes after a low turnout in the 2022 election

The States of Jersey has proposed moving the island's 2026 election to a weekend to increase voter turnout.

It comes after the 2022 election saw a "low" turnout, according to Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC), which wants to set the next election for Sunday 7 June 2026.

The date is based on research by Griffith University in Australia that found that more than 60% of elections worldwide were held on weekends with Sunday the preferred day.

While some studies suggested voter turnout increased over the weekend other research claimed the day of an election did not affect participation, according to the PPC.

Due to the lack of firm evidence, the PPC has suggested the move to a Sunday election should be trialled to see if it brings more people to the polls.

A draft Act by the PPC said: "Our democracy is not going to function well when only a third of eligible voters are participating and even a modest increase in voting will be worthwhile."

The earliest date for the debate has been confirmed as April 1 with the act coming into effect 7 days later if approved.