Most J’cans decided how they would vote long before election

NINE out of every 10 voters who cast their ballots in the September 3, 2020 General Election decided how they were going to vote at least six months before the election, the latest poll conducted by Bill Johnson has shown.

Additionally, twice as many People’s National Party (PNP) voters than Jamaica Labour

Party (JLP) supporters decided to exercise their franchise on election day itself.

Johnson’s poll, conducted September 11-13 — a week after the JLP won a second consecutive term in office by handing the PNP a humiliating 49-14-seat defeat — was commissioned by the Jamaica

Observer. The pollsters canvassed the views of 1,000 voting-age Jamaicans across the island, giving the survey a sampling error of plus or minus three per cent.

The election was held in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a fact that earned the Government heavy criticism in some quarters as the Administration had until next February, at least, to have the exercise. However, there was acknowledgement by other people that there was really no good time to call the vote as there is no immediate end in sight to the health crisis.

In the run-up to the election concerns were expressed that fear of contracting the virus would keep many voters, particularly the elderly, away from polling stations. However, Johnson and his team of researchers found that an overwhelming majority of those who voted (87 per cent) had no concerns about about the coronavirus.

At the same time, more PNP than JLP voters did admit that concerns about the coronavirus almost prevented them from voting.

“Almost twice as many

PNP voters as JLP voters said that concerns about getting coronavirus almost prevented them from voting. These concerns were expressed by 30 per cent of those 65 years and older;

41.5 was the median age of JLP voters and 46.7 for PNP voters,” Johnson stated in his analysis of the findings.