“The Alarming Decline in Voter Turnout” so read the headlines in the Globe and Mail following the Ontario Provincial election in October 2011. A new low in citizen participation was reached in Ontario’s last election when only 49% of eligible voters made the effort to cast a ballot. The right to vote is one of the privileges we enjoy. It is a fundamental freedom we enjoy as citizens of a democracy.
Yet it is puzzling to me why so many eligible voters don’t exercise their right to vote. Around the globe peoples of many countries struggle to gain or maintain their ability to express their political will and mandate who their leaders will be. Many literally put their lives on the line to engage in the political process of voting.
One is left to wonder if the decreasing trend of voter turnout will continue to fall. A study done by Elections Canada and published in 2011 found that as each new contingent of the younger generation becomes eligible to vote in fact fewer of them exercise this right and civil responsibility. The research highlighted that only one third of first time voters entered the polling stations and voted.
Whatever ones political stripe, whichever political ideology one espouses, whether sure or unsure of whom to vote for I urge you to get out and exercise your freedom to vote. I also hope you’ll encourage others, especially our youth to take up the habit of voting.
For all information about Ontario’s 41st Provincial General Election on June 12, 2014 go to the Election Website: WeMakeVotingEasy.ca
Nancy Wales CSJ