There is a palpable sense of relief among swimming pool supporters following the Barrhead County plebiscite on March 24.
Of the 1,051 who voted on the County’s commitment of up to $5m towards the project, 643, or 61 per cent, said “yes.”
Added to the Town plebiscite result, which saw 60 per cent of voters back their council contributing up to $7m to a new aquatic centre, municipal leaders now have a mandate to proceed with construction.
Yet how convincing is that mandate when so many people did not vote? In the County’s case, just 23.89 per cent of 4,400 eligible residents voted. In the Town poll, turnout was well below 50 per cent.
Why would an issue which affects people’s taxes draw so few people to the polls?
If people agree that the ability to vote is fundamental to democracy, then the low turnout at the polls should concern us all. Of course, the problem is not specific to the recent plebiscites; it surfaces every time there is a provincial or federal election. Nor is it specific to Canada.
Some countries have sought to remedy this through compulsory voting. In Australia, for instance, enforced voting has been in place since 1924. Such a measure seems extreme to those who argue that civil and political freedoms must also include a citizen’s right not to vote.
The reasons for not voting are manifold. Apathy and voter fatigue may be factors.
In the case of the swimming pool, the issue has claimed headlines for so many months that people may have switched off, becoming too jaded to care any more.
There may, of course, be those who supported the pool project, but rejected the County’s decision only to offer a maximum of $5 million.
Voter cynicism is another probable cause. People might say “why bother to vote in a plebiscite that is not legally binding and is merely a token nod to the concept of public input?”
Whatever the reason it is surely not healthy that so few people wish to be involved in the decision-making process. The danger is that politicians will feel less and less of a need to appeal to the broader electorate.
Low voter turnout is a symptom of a problem, the problem of voter disengagement.
The ongoing challenge for elected representatives is to engage the public, so they feel motivated to vote. Stirring the passions of the silent majority is also a challenge for all of us.
