Ireland's voters will affect the future direction of Europe and Irish participation in it when they go the polls in the second referendum on the Nice Treaty today.
The intense campaign over the last six weeks has highlighted the issues and underlined how they will influence public policy in Ireland and the European Union - and in the 10 candidate states waiting to join it. Everyone entitled to vote should make the maximum effort to do so today.
In the Nice Treaty referendum last year just over one third of those entitled to vote exercised their franchise. Given the gravity of the issues at stake for Ireland and Europe in ratifying or rejecting the treaty that was an indictment of Ireland's democracy. Over the last year a great effort has been made to engage the public more actively. The National Forum on Europe brought together political parties and leaders in a more concentrated and informed debate. Political parties, interest groups and campaigning organisations have endeavoured to communicate their points of view. As a result, many more voters feel confident they know enough about the issues to vote in the second referendum on the treaty tomorrow.
Will Europe remain a hybrid union of states and peoples pooling their sovereignty and co-operating in chosen fields or will it become a federation involving 500 million people and at least 27 states? Will Ireland remain in the mainstream of policy-making or become marginalised? Will the EU enlarge to include most of the continent's nation-states or will that objective be delayed or disrupted? Will Ireland's own democracy become diminished or enhanced? These questions are all at issue in today's referendum.
Democracy is concerned with identifying the public will in a political community and making decisions based upon it. In referendums democracy enables a majority of those voting to decide on the preferred direction of public policy. On an optimistic view of civic engagement a majority of those entitled to vote will make the decision. On a pessimistic one the apathetic, under-informed or alienated exclude themselves, leaving it to the actively involved.
Democracy involves everyone affected by public policy, giving them an equal voice and opportunity to participate in the voting. In practice, the failure of a majority of citizens to go to the polls can only be interpreted as a failure to realise they are affected or a refusal to become involved. Either way our democracy is diminished. To reaffirm it, make sure you go out and vote as you see fit today.