Poll survey to include new voters
(CNS): The polling day national survey, which is being organised by MLA Kenneth Bryan (GTC), has been widened to include all registered voters on the new list, which goes live on 1 January, and not just voters on the list currently in use by the Elections Office. Bryan is hoping to gather island-wide opinion from voters on the subjects of ganja, gambling and gay marriage in order to help shape future policy proposals, since there is currently no real public opinion data in Cayman.
Speaking at a recent press conference, Bryan said the initiative is moving apace, with volunteers joining up to help conduct the survey and buy-in coming from other opposition MLAs to encourage people to take part.
The anonymous opinion poll, officially entitled “Caymanian Voices National Survey”, is open to all registered voters. Bryan is arranging pre-Referendum Day surveying on 5, 6 and 7 December, and has volunteers wiling to take the survey to voters who will not be here on Referendum Day.
Eden Hurlstone, a member of the executive committee established to help shape the national poll, explained that the survey is all about “roadways to dialogue” based on what the voting public wants.
Hurlstone said he believes that if government had conducted open opinion polls and collected proper data before embarking on the current cruise berthing proposal, things would not have turned out the way they have, with the country polarized and a mass anti-port movement emerging.
Bryan said he was really grateful for all the help and support he has received to make the survey possible, with donations and volunteers signing up. But there is always room for more support by individuals helping with the actual survey, as well as financial support.
The MLA urged voters to take part because the results will be very significant and the more voters who take part, the more valuable the results will be for future policy on these three subject areas, which may be controversial but which have continued to dominate the public and political agenda for decades.
While assumptions have been made about what the Caymanian electorate actually feels about these three issues and how the country should address them, there is no definitive data to support the broader public opinion on legalising ganja, gambling or same-sex unions.
See more details about the polling day survey and opportunities to take part ahead of referendum day on the Cayman Voices National Survey Facebook page.
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Category: Politics
How can a survey be anonymous is you have to prove you are a registered voter to partake?
Should we enact and enforce the SIPL law ? What say you Kenny boy?
Anyone of voting age, with PR and a Cayman Islands travel document, should be allowed to vote for as long as they remain resident and committed to the islands.
WTF…..Miss Annie must be rolling in her grave…Alden caused it…. OMOV….you haven’t seen nothing yet….wait until 2021. Why don’t he have a National vote survey? This is the only corrective measure for what is happening with these youngsters. Don’t wait too long government. There will soon be no more Arden, Ezzard, Mac, McTaggart, Rivers…this is bigger than most people think….These youngsters are only playing with being “patriotic to the people” until they get where they want to be…as the government, in charge of the funding.
One would hope that even the densest lawmakers, by this point, would readily understand that it doesn’t matter what personal opinions voters or MLAs might hold in regards to the LGBT community. The Cayman Islands already has binding judicial review, FCO instruction, and constitutional/ECHR obligation to support and defend equality. Similarly, most of us would probably understand the legal position, without thinking we needed a extra popularity straw poll on: slavery, public executions, election tampering, or selling cocaine to undercover cops.
Given that several of our MLA’s are calling for the deportation of an individual due to his sexual orientation, clearly there is a need for determining the opinion of the public on this matter.
What’s missing right now, isn’t the public’s quick show of hands to greenlight continued illegal and immoral abuses of office. The MLAs involved should be disqualified already, but the Attorney General and Governor are complicit in their abuses. Until SIPL is enacted, all our instruments of social justice might as well be written by Martin Scorsese. Current governance resembles an authoritarian free-for-all, with banana-republic military aspirations.
We can’t go back in time to when this might have been an opinion matter.
Ganja’s definitely going to get the vote. Gay marriage is gonna be a 50/50 issue so I’m not so confident about that…
Government officials already gamble so they might as well legalize it…
No, if government officials are gambling, and that is a crime, we might as well prosecute them.
Why is no one talking about the radio advertisements about texting FLOW for $1.75 each for a chance to win a boat?? But you can’t sell numbers?
Fix the damn dump Kenneth.
Not his remit. Try again with a better troll job.
I think youyou asking the wrong MLA. I do believe that responsibility is with the minister for DEH and Environment, Dwayne (john john) Seymour.
All 19 are complicit and will be named in the pending class action suit.
A suit that will fail because the Government isn’t supposed to coddle people.
Kenneth, may I please ask you to add a question as to whether or not the electorate are in fact happy that the governor will have no oversight role if Alden’s amendments are allowed?
Some investors are already expressing concerns as to what this may mean, and I am far from convinced that many Caymanians think it a good idea at this stage of our social and political development.
It would be interesting to know if the amendments are in fact as uncontroversial to the electorate as the legislative assembly (of which I accept you are a part) contends. I am concerned that there are a substantial number of persons with legitimate concerns who simply dare not speak out for fear of being labeled against their own people.
Your valuable survey could at least provide an indication, one way or another.
Some investors lol. Biggest amount of bollocks I have heard. Are these the same caliber of investor in Bermuda or Gibraltar where this power does not exist?
We can’t make laws that violate the bill of rights or the EU human rights convention. Everything else is within the delegated authority of the elected government so why give a Governor the power to disallow something that our democracy supports it it’s not in violation of human rights?
That’s simply not on in this era. The White guy from the UK does not always have the answers.
Umm, in case you haven’t noticed, there are no large scale investors in Bermuda or Gibraltar. Their economies have been failing, while Cayman’s has been booming.
And if Trump lose election next year you’ll see where the boom goes.
Legalize Cannabis like Mexico, USA and Canada to allow Caymanians to grow their own medicine instead of importing it from big pharma!
Why do we continue to allow drug lords to reap the profits of the demand? Why do we ruin young Caymanians over a spliff but allow them to purchase alcohol on Sundays and smoke tobacco on government property?
As a tour operator many of my guests have asked me where to find it. I wish I could direct them to a dispensary ran by Caymanian farmers who contribute tax revenue to our coffers instead of drug dealers who bring in guns!
I can obtain an oil extracted directly from the plant yet I, a Caymanian with a degree related to botany, am prohibited from growing the plant for my depression.
I am tired of having my adult life dictated by those who have had their chance to for decades more. If you’re old enough, go vote, because the boomers hold onto the past as if time waits for any man.
If you are suffering from depression you can get a prescription to buy your oil from someone else. What do you want, an oil extracting pharmacy on each street corner.
Federally, Cannabis remains a schedule 1 drug in the USA. In the very few states that have legalized or decriminalized recreational use, such decriminalization does not generally apply to underage teen recreational users. Same in Canada.