‘Our votes are not for sale’ - Eight in 10 Jamaicans shun vote-buying

A resounding 82.3 per cent of Jamaicans would reject money or other incentives in exchange for their vote, according to a recent Don Anderson poll commissioned by the RJRGLEANER.

The findings appear to dispel the notions that elections can be swayed by cash or gifts. Vote-buying is strictly prohibited under Jamaica's Representation of the People Act, with offenders facing fines ranging from $20,000 to $80,000, or imprisonment of three to five years.

Respondents, when asked whether they would accept money or other benefits to vote, 82.3 per cent again said no.

The highest vulnerability came from younger voters. Approximately a quarter ( 26.2 per cent) of 18-24-year-olds say they would sell their votes. Similarly, 21.9 per cent of 25-34-year-olds admitted they might sell their vote.

Older age groups were more resistant, with 12.6 per cent of 55-64-year-olds and 8.3 per cent of those 65 and older willing to accept inducements.

Professor Jermaine McCalpin, political scientist and director of Africana Studies, New Jersey City University, is not convinced that the finding accurately reflects the role in inducement in voting behaviours.

"The principles of fairness and transparency are civic/democratic principles and it is encouraging that the polls point to these being upheld. I am, however, not fully convinced that only 12-15 per cent would give in to vote-buying," McCalpin said.

Earlier this year, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) General Secretary Dr Horace Chang acknowledged that some voters might accept inducements from candidates--but warned that doing so does not guarantee electoral success.

"I don't think it impacts elections, that's my frank opinion," Chang said, adding, "A man who thinks he can buy an election runs into problems."

The poll, conducted between May and June 2025, also explored voters' willingness to accept incentives not to vote. A strong 88.5 per cent of respondents said they would refuse any such offer. Among those open to abstaining for a payoff, 14.3 per cent were aged 18-24 and 12.3 per cent were aged 25-34. Only 1.8 per cent of respondents aged 65 and over said they would comply.

McCalpin opined that respondents perceive vote-buying as "something to be frowned upon" and therefore may not have been forthright in their responses.

The issue of vote-buying has long been a controversial feature of Jamaican politics, often resurfacing during election cycles when concerns are raised about the integrity of the democratic process.

In her report on the 2020 general elections, Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown wrote that "electors were demanding a higher price for their vote because of the risk of COVID-19; the price for a vote reportedly doubled from the last General Election held in 2016".

In one constituency, she reported, voters were initially offered $5,000 but demanded more, refusing to leave their homes otherwise.