Why Vote?

There has been a downward trend in voter turnout since Mulroney's PC party took power for its first mandate back in September of 1984. Over the last 20 years it has dropped (according to Elections Canada and mapleleafweb.com) from 75.3 per cent of eligible voters in 1984 to 60.4 per cent in 2004. Although reasons for this trend are multifaceted and studying them is not the object of this article, a few reasons can quickly be recited. They include: a lack of confidence and trust, in the political parties (and leaders), the perception of dishonesty (the spin effect) of politicians, and the conception that the first priority of those running for parliament is to put their selfish interests above the public interest.

Because of these attitudes, we at Full Spectrum believe the 2006 vote will have the lowest turnout in the history of our nation (except for the referendum vote of 1898). Each of the last two elections has held the record and we expect this time around we will, for the first time, fall below the 60 per cent mark. This is a depressing statement as historically speaking, more than seven out of every ten eligible voter has cast his or her ballot.

Keeping this in mind, we at Full Spectrum have decided to ignore all of this negativity and give eligible voters a few reasons why they should get out to their polling stations and place a mark on their ballot; and if the turn out reaches the 65-70 percent mark, we don't mind taking all the credit!

I will start with the two reasons that have been mentioned in previous elections, which have nothing to do with who you vote for, and finish with a third that is relatively new, as this will be only the second election it falls under due to a change in the Elections Act beginning January 1, 2004.

Reason Number One
Don't let some fraudulent jerk vote in your place. The first line in defense against fraud is to show up and watch the volunteers take their marker and pass a line through your name on the electoral register. Whether it is a nefarious character impersonating you or a corrupt elections volunteer/officer putting in an extra few votes for his or her candidate on the sly and marking you off as voting, you need to get out and make sure this doesn't happen. Just because the likelihood of this occurring is slim (Elections Canada has a great reputation) doesn't mean it can't happen. So cast your ballot and keep the power in your hands.

Reason Number Two
Stick it to the man! You wear your angst on your sleeve, or feelings of frustration overwhelm your good judgment, either way you believe the best protest you can make to represent these emotions is to blow off the whole affair and get on with your life. Not to offend your sensibilities, but you are wrong. The best way to protest is to show up and spoil your ballot. If you avoid the polling station, notwithstanding the first reason given, you will only be a no show. This indicates apathy rather than anger or frustration. Hell, it even can say you were detained, lost, or otherwise prevented from voting. This is not the message you want to send to those elected. You're not apathetic, you're f..ing angry remember! When you spoil your ballot, you show those officials that you are disgusted with them. You took the time to come out. You looked over all the names on the ballot and you told them all to go to hell by voting for none of them. So mark an X beside two or more names and give the finger to all those jerks you loath so much.

Reason Number Three
Bill C-24. Along with not entering the war in Iraq, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien added a second reason he will be remembered as a statesman in future generations' look back on his legacy. If we concentrate on one section of Bill C-24 that pertains to funding political parties with public money, it seems that thinking your vote is worth nothing now doesn't hold water. Apathy, due to reasoning that your X on the ballot has no weight, no longer applies. Every vote in the next election is worth $1.75 to the party you choose to endorse (if the party receives two percent of the registered vote). Although there are flaws to Bill C-24, this part is not one of them. If you think about it, it also eliminates the "nervous" factor in casting ballots. Every one of you out there who feel too nervous or uniformed to vote, and therefore leave the decision up to those who know the issues, can now feel confident in casting a ballot for a party that will not win the election. You can, by your vote, keep those smaller parties going so they can add another voice to the debate. It increases choice and therefore democratic principles when your $1.75 keeps a small party afloat. They may not enjoy forming the government, but at least they can bring a different perspective to the issues which you may never hear from the two major parties.

To conclude, we can confidently state that every Canadian now has a reason to get out and exercise their democratic right. With the restraints put on corporations, unions, lobby and special interest groups, you as an individual voter now have even more responsibility to add your voice through the ballot than ever before. So unless you are hit by a car, or are in the process of giving birth, what reason do you have? Get out and vote, you know deep inside you really want to.