In the wake of the 37th general election, Canadians can congratulate themselves on marking a new level of voter apathy in the pages of our electoral history. This year, only 63 per cent of eligible voters exercised their democratic right to vote, an even lower low than the less-than-spectacular 67-per-cent turnout in 1997.
These statistics should be a blinking neon sign to electors and Elections Canada, flashing one burning word into the night: Why?
But that’s part of the problem. No one seems to care that many Canadians don’t seem to care. Apathy begets apathy, perhaps.
Sure, it’s a long and gruelling process, electing a prime minister and all those MPs, even with fewer and fewer ballots to count each time around.
It’s even more of a pain to go door-to-door registering voters — a process that’s now a thing of the past. According to the federal government, door-to-door enumeration was an “expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive process” that cost $30 million.
Informing people of their right to vote is important. Sending a registration card or a pamphlet in the mail is not going far enough. While it is an individual’s responsibility to actively decide to vote and carry through with that decision, the administrative burden should not fall on the shoulders of electors.
Door-to-door enumeration plays a large role in whether or not people vote. Without this kind of contact, all potential voters can’t be properly informed of their rights in an upcoming election. This especially applies to the elderly, disabled and illiterate citizens who can’t read printed information sent out by Elections Canada.
And even if you can read a registration card, it won’t necessarily get to you in the mail. A number of eligible voters expressed concern they didn’t receive any material whatsoever from Elections Canada, and had to seek out phone numbers and information themselves, which was not always easy.
In no way does this mean Canadians need to be spoon-fed democracy. But eliminating such an important electoral function is almost tantamount to discouraging activity at the polls, and promotes apathy amongst voters.
With a third Liberal majority government to look forward to, this may not have been the most tantalizing election in which to cast a ballot.
But we should be casting our ballots, albeit grudgingly. The fact that we’re not says less about us, and more about the state of the Canadian electoral system and the cost-cutting priorities of the federal government.
We can’t be expected to get off our sofas and exercise our democratic muscles if our government can’t. Apathy begets apathy.
— Melissa Hughes