Congratulations to (fill-in-the-blank) on winning the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock riding.
I say fill in the blank because, as a weekly newspaper that is published on election day, and a deadline that is even earlier, we won’t know the official results until well after this issue has been put to bed.
It seems wrong to wait a full week to congratulate the winner, so I have decided to issue an all purpose congratulations statement.
That being said, this issue and column will be read by some people who are eligible to vote and haven’t yet for whatever the reason. To those people, I say, please vote.
Unfortunately in the last few decades, Albertans and Canadians in general have had a very poor attendance rate at the polls. In the last six Alberta provincial elections the number of eligible voters who decided to exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot has hovered at about 50 per cent. In 1993, the number of voters peaked at just over 60 per cent and fell to the 40 per cent range in the 2004 and 2008 elections. At the federal level the numbers are equally as alarming.
In the last five federal elections, the number of people who have decided to take advantage of their democratic right has dropped. Since 2000, the percentage of people who cast ballots has been in the low 60s, bottoming out in the 2008 election, at 58 per cent. The numbers are even worse if you include bylections. For example in our Yellowhead riding only 16 per cent of the eligible voters bothered to go to the polls on Nov. 17.
These numbers are alarming. When I was growing up in the 1980s the election participation rate was always above 70 per cent, often closer to 80 per cent on both a provincial and federal level. As it was the majority of the time, for both my parents and grandparents generation.
The question is, what has changed? For a number of years, politicians at all levels and on all sides of the political spectrum, say people have become disillusioned with the political process and a major electoral overhaul is needed to reengage the population.
I agree. In the past I have written that, in my opinion, Canada should transition from the first past the post, winner take all system, to some sort of proportional representation system.
However, even before that, another political reform has to take place. Voting has to be thought of more than just a right. Rights are often taken for granted. Voting has to become more than a right, it has to be a responsibility. It is your responsibility as a Canadian citizen to vote and to make an informed vote.
In Australia, on a regular basis sees a 95 per cent voters turnout. Why? Because they have to, it’s the law. And Australia is not the only country, close to 30 democratic countries around the world have enacted similar legislation.
Is it something we should do in Canada? I am not sure, but each time I see the dismal election turnouts, the more inclined I am to think so.
