Can’t Campaign” and “Can’t Vote” Democratically Problematic? Election situation in February according to people in snow country.

In Akita, “There are too many negative factors.”

The lower house election will be held on February 8. This will be the first time in 60 years that the House of Representatives has been dissolved at the beginning of a regular Diet session, and the election will be held within 16 days, the shortest period of time in the postwar period. It will also be the first time in 36 years, since 1990, that the House of Representatives election will be held in February.

There have been various criticisms of the election, such as “The 85.5 billion yen spent on the Lower House election could have been used for other purposes,” and “The election is just to increase the number of seats for the LDP. One of the criticisms is the difficulty of holding elections in winter in a snow country. Some people have voiced their concern about the “disparity” between the election campaign in snow areas and that of other regions.

In regions with heavy snowfall, it is difficult for voters to go to the polls. It is also difficult for politicians to conduct adequate election campaigns. In this sense, can it be said that the February lower house election was held equally for all voters and candidates? We investigated the actual situation.

When we interviewed a staff member working at the election office of a candidate in Akita Prefecture, he said , “I would like to believe that the election is being conducted equally,” but he complained, “There are too many negative factors.

First of all, there are places where it is difficult to display election posters. The city’s election commission clears the snow and puts up billboards, but there are limits to how much snow can be removed, so there are very few of them. In addition, the sound from the speakers is being absorbed by the snow, making it difficult for them to make their speeches. This makes it difficult to reach supporters.

The places where I can make speeches are also limited. In many cases, the places where I used to be able to give speeches are unusable because the snow that has been removed from the roads is so piled up on the sides of the roads that cars can barely pass each other. If this happens, we have no choice but to rethink our election activities drastically. Sometimes it takes more than two hours to get to places that can be reached in an hour because of the snow.

There are also concerns about the impact on voter turnout. Although they are thinking of countermeasures, there is not much they can do.

We hear from the elderly that they don’t want to go outside because of the cold. There are also delays and cancellations of public transportation, and some people don’t want to drive in snowy conditions. Rain also reduces the number of people who go to the polls, so we suspect that the snowfall will further lower turnout.”

Aomori: “621 posting locations down to 97”

Aomori Prefecture is also experiencing a significant negative impact from the snowfall, with staff at election offices in the prefecture reporting that an unusual situation has arisen.

According to a staff member at an election office in Aomori Prefecture, “In some areas of Aomori, the number of posting sites that were supposed to be set up at 621 locations has been reduced to 97 this time around. We have heard from contractors that it is very difficult to put up signs while removing snow. Also, when we make speeches on the sidewalks, the large amount of snow that has been removed from the sides of the roads is an obstacle to traffic. Therefore, we have no choice but to scale back our speeches.

In Aomori Prefecture, the candidates’ camps are also concerned about the turnout. In Aomori Prefecture, too, the candidates’ camps are concerned about the turnout, and even more so about whether “fairness” is being maintained.

In the middle of winter, there are negative factors such as bad roads and traffic jams everywhere you drive, so many people don’t go to the polls. Although the conditions between candidates are the same, I think it has a considerable impact on voters’ right to vote and suffrage. There is no doubt that disparities have arisen in the way elections are run.”

In the heavy snowfall areas of Fukushima Prefecture, the start of voting on the day of the election is delayed by one to two hours or the polling places with particularly heavy snowfall are moved to neighboring districts because the snow cannot be removed in time or the officials cannot arrive on time. These factors are also likely to have an obvious impact on voter turnout.

Issues to be examined

When we spoke to attorney Satoshi Oshiro about regional disparities in winter elections, he said , ” We don’t know if it will affect voter turnout yet, but we should question whether the schedule is set up to allow for fair elections.

He said, “We can’t say for sure that voting rights are being violated at this stage, but we should examine what restrictions the campaign actually had in areas where it snows after the election, and compare it to the turnout in previous House of Representatives elections.

Sovereignty of the people is a principle enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution. The act of electing members of parliament in elections is a very important right written into the Constitution . If there are areas where voting is difficult due to the season or weather, elections should be held on a schedule that takes those factors into account.”

As for the disparity in voter turnout in different regions, some see it as a deprivation of the opportunity to vote.

“‘Shorter election periods’ and ‘fewer acts to help the public make decisions’ are also points of verification. Sovereign citizens need sufficient material for judgment in order to vote. Without decision-making material, they are deprived of the opportunity to make substantial choices about who to vote for. It may be true that there are regional disparities due to the short election period and snow. This is a serious problem, especially with regard to the lack of bulletin boards being set up.”

The House of Representatives election was held in the middle of winter in a very short period of time. In areas where there is a lot of snowfall, election campaigning and voting activities are definitely hampered, creating a disparity with areas where snowfall is not a problem. A fair election is desirable so that no one can say anything about who won or lost.

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