Pretty much everyone has an opinion on the political issues of the day. You only have to visit the Western New’s Facebook page to see how many comments articles about Penticton politics gather.
It’s just too bad all that talk never seems to translate into people getting out to the polls and voting. It’s not just municipal elections that experience this effect, though it is more pronounced at the local level.
The last provincial election saw about 60 per cent of the voters turn out, and the last federal election saw the highest turnout since 1993, at 68.5 per cent. By comparison, only 31.4 per cent of Penticton voters showed up at the polls in 2014.
The time needed to vote is a problem. In 2014, it was anything but a quick trip to register your vote. Lineups stretched well outside the Trade and Convention Centre, and there were many stories of people not being able to vote, left outside the polling station when the cutoff came.
City hall gave in to pressure and arranged for two polling stations for this fall’s municipal election. That’s positive, though it’s unlikely to raise the turnout more than a couple of percentage points.
The message sent out is often to remind people that it is their civic duty to exercise their franchise — often referencing the lives lost in defence of democracy — but that hasn’t seemed to be effective.
Only a few countries have compulsory voting, and it’s often argued against as being essentially undemocratic. So if we can’t use a stick to get people to vote, how about a carrot?
How about a new toaster? Doesn’t everyone need a new toaster every three or four years?
Making voting easier and quicker, along with positive and tangible reasons to vote — more than just the satisfaction of being part of the process — has a good chance of getting more people out to vote.