What Did The Scots Do To Engage So Many Of Their Countrymen To GOTV?.......

[global1]

It was an overwhelming vote turnout in Scotland for this decision to go independent or stay in the UK. The voter turnout was epic. Even 16 and 17 y/o's were motivated and engaged.

How can we get the same kind of voter turnout in this country. I believe our Nov 2014 election is every bit as important as the decision that the Scots had to make.

Do we do the things that we all know are no-brainers to get our country back on path or do we fall further into the abyss that the Repubs, Corporatists and Banksters want us to?

The decision is in our hands - but - with the apathetic electorate - what do you think will happen?

[Brickbat]

1. Make every little thing a referendum?

There's a difference in voting when it comes to a high-profile, high-stakes referendum question and electing representatives.

[whistler162]

2. Probably told them if they didn't

they would a a beginner piper practice in their neighborhoods every morning at 1 A.M..

[scarletwoman]

13. I like this answer.

[MADem]

3. They offered them a different style of governance...or not.

You don't think we'd have a big turnout if the question was

"Shall we install Obama as King?"

or

"Should we break USA up into four separate countries?"

I don't know if we'll ever get that kind of turnout absent that kind of issue on the ballot. We have entrenched voters, party line types, we have apathetic people who barely watch the news (they think "Kardashians" is news), and we have the "Waaah, they all suck, they'll never get better, there's no point, so either stay home or vote symbolically for someone who won't win and won't grab even a percent of the vote!!!"

The last time the nation got excited in an unusual way about an election is when that quirky Ross Perot engaged in that three-way race with Bush and Clinton. Had Perot not peaked so soon, who knows what might have happened. He went from unusual and refreshing to quirky and different to a bit didactic, oddball, and irritating fairly quickly...but he did add some zest to the process. All the other 3rd party players simply offer enough ambiguity to enable cheating around the margins of error by the major parties--no one has had the clout of a Perot.

[Nye Bevan]

4. I think that if a US state was having a referendum on whether or not to secede from the US,

and the voters had been assured that secession would be guaranteed to take place if a majority voted for it, the turnout would be pretty damned high, certainly a lot more than the typical turnout for the congressional midterms.

The reason turnout was so high was that it was an important issue; something that would have an impact not just until the next round of elections but for the next several generations, at least, and possibly for hundreds of years. The turnout by the Scottish electorate for the most recent elections to the Scottish parliament was nothing like as impressive.

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. This referendum wasn't like a regular election; it was a decision on the future of the country.

Turnout in the 1995 Quebec referendum, in comparison, was 93%. Turnout in the last general election in Scotland was 63%, and in the last Scottish Parliament election it was 50%.

[malthaussen]

6. Free whisky at the polling place?

We used to buy elections in this country that way.

-- Mal

[monmouth3]

11. Or a free IPhone, that'll do it. Lines going around the corner the other day...n/t

[Turbineguy]

7. They must have convinced the the voters that they had some control of their future.

Whether one way or the other.

Now, please help out the Koch brothers and stay home on polling day.

[Adam051188]

8. we have this absurd thing called an "electoral college" in the united states

[etherealtruth]

9. They encouraged voter participation ....

They did not erect road blocks, hurdles ... no attempts to intimidate voters

[sendero]

10. Might be...

... because there was a clear difference between one side an the other. Rather than "corporate" and "corporate-lite".

[Fred Sanders]

12. Connect yelling at the radio and TV with the solution to the yelling, voting?

Political Anger Management 101, lesson one is ...vote.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Maybe the aren't inundated with politics 24/7/365 like we are.

That's my bet.

[tritsofme]

15. This vote was not really in any way comparable to a US midterm

It was a vote that directly determined the fate of the country, and this is what drove turnout, which was much higher than typical Scottish elections

It was a very unique election.

[Maedhros]

16. They were given a clear choice, and their vote was meaningful.

Neither of those two things apply to modern U.S. elections.

[sibelian]

17. Colosal grassroots effort.

The Radical Independence Campaign, just to name one influence, went out to get people registered to vote.

What other posters have said in response your OP is correct, but I think focussing on the meaningfulness of the vote is slightly cynical, there was a great deal of ordinary door knocking, stall tending, leafletting and masses and masses of tweeting and involvement of social media. In fact, I would go so far as to say that social media played a pivotal role in increasing the turnout.