Political apathy hinders turnout
By Natasha Marar
News Editor
October 3, 2007
 Lowered voting levels among young adults have prompted Elections Ontario to increase awareness of the Oct. 10 election and referendum.
“I’m responsible for informing students…to increase voter turnout for the election,” explained Adam Buck, student liaison officer for Elections Ontario, who added, “This is a new position they created for this election.”
Zach Cranny, UWSA VPUA, remarked, “I think [Elections Ontario is] taking steps to make awareness of voting, and how you can vote, more accessible for individuals across Ontario.”
According to Buck, Elections Ontario promoted the election through flyers, posters, and a booth during Club Days. All residences have received posters about advanced polling, flyers were distributed to first-year student mailboxes, and a series of workshops will be held in the residences.
Elections Ontario is not the only organization facilitating election awareness among students. “I’m working on a Get Out and Vote campaign with [the University of] Waterloo,” explained Cranny. “We are hoping to roll that out in the first week in October.”
“[UWSA is] also trying to work with Elections Ontario…to get a shuttle working so we can get some students on campus or around campus to their polling station”
A 2007 report by Statistics Canada, Canadians and Their Non-Voting Political Activity, indicates that despite low voting behaviour among youth, one third of adults aged 19 - 64 years engage in at least one non-political activity.
Younger citizens are more likely to participate in non-political activities by, “searching for political information, joining...or volunteering for a political party, and/or writing to a newspaper or politician to express their views.”
“We ultimately [would] like to see them vote, but if they are getting out there and informing others of social issues that a positive thing as well,” said Buck.
The report also indicates that, “postsecondary education is the most important influence on participation in the political sphere.” Fifty-one per cent of individuals with post-secondary education participate versus 18 per cent of individuals with no more than a high school education.
Another report published by Statistics Canada, Willing to Participate: Political Engagement of Young Adults (2005), claims that younger citizens are less likely to vote because they are unfamiliar with politics, unmotivated to get involved, overwhelmed by the vast amount of political information, or believe that the government offers limited support for issues that affect young adults.
The report also revealed that in the 2000 federal election, “only 59 per cent of those in their twenties voted, compared with...85 per cent or more of individuals aged 45 and over.”
“I think…society doesn’t put enough emphasis on [voting],” admitted Buck.
Cranny agreed, “I think that as a whole, society needs to…practice what they preach. We live in a democratic country but we don’t use that right.”
“I think…we can be more conscious of what’s going on in the political scene,” added Cranny. “There are students that are interested, it’s just increasing the numbers.”
|
