Working To Get the Vote Out
It has often been said that voting is our right and responsibility as citizens of a democracy. Yet many of us do not exercise that right and choose not to be involved in the election process. For decades now, voter turnout in this country has been on the decline and is now among the lowest in the western world. For municipal elections the numbers are extremely poor. In Vaughan in 2006, voter turnout was just 38%, below the provincial average voter turnout of 41.3%.
The City of Vaughan is working to change that. Created in 2007, the City’s Task Force on Democratic Participation and Renewal has for the past two years been examining the challenges and opportunities to increase voter turnout to 50% in the next municipal election. The Task Force has focussed on three key areas: why people do not vote; strategies to increase voting; and communication and promotion plans to raise awareness and encourage residents to vote.
The Task Force has now completed and presented its Third Interim Report to Council which includes the results of an online survey. The report outlined several areas to help increase voter turnout including potential changes to Vaughan’s election process, access to candidate information, alternative voting
June 30, 2009 Update |
methods, convenience of voting, increased access to election information, and information on municipal government and its functions.
The online survey revealed many reasons why voters chose not to cast a ballot in the 2006 municipal election. They included a lack of knowledge about local candidates, a loss of interest due to negative aspects of the election campaign, discontent with the candidate options, and a lack of personal contact with candidates. Throughout the survey, residents made it clear they weren’t canvassed by candidates in any form.
When it comes to changing how we vote there were several suggestions made including increasing the number of advanced polling days and extending the hours in which to vote to accommodate people who live in Vaughan, but work outside the City. However, the Task Force found that the most popular suggestion to increase voter turnout was internet voting. Over 70% of those responding to the online survey said that it would encourage them to vote.The Task Force will provide a final report to Vaughan Council this fall, one which will include a number of recommendations. The goal is to help build awareness of what the municipal level of government does for residents, create a more informed and engaged voter, and increase access to voting options. The ultimate goal is that there will be one more voter in November 2010 for every three who voted in the last election.