Should you get a lottery ticket for voting?

As I touched on in a previous post, there is much to debate in the Government’s Communities in Control White Paper published over the summer, even if Hazel Blears’ recent speech on the topic seemed to rather miss the opportunity.

Here’s another morsel, this time about a possible way to raise turnout in council elections:

We will give local authorities the power to provide incentives for voting in local government elections, for example by entering voters into a prize draw. Voting incentives should not be construed as ‘paying for votes’ or create a major new financial burden on councils. Instead, they should be viewed as an eye-catching method to increase awareness and engagement, especially with young people who have never voted and who might view the process with suspicion. [p.70]

What do you think of the idea?