Introduction
Statistics have shown that Canada has been experiencing a decline in voter participation during federal elections ever since before the second world war to this day. Voter participation or voter turnout simply refers to the total number of voters who are able to cast ballots in an election.
Those voters must be eligible and normally the total turnout is expressed in the percentage of the total eligible voters. Voter participation is important because the voter is given the opportunity to express his or her political interest. Low turnout does not show the will of the majority as the voice is aired through their vote. However low turnout is legitimate if the rights are practiced. High turnout is proof that the existing system is legitimate.
It has also been noted that out of all those who vote, there has been a very low turnout amongst the eligible youth voters which may be twenty-five percent. Most of the youth who fail to vote to remain politically inactive even in their latter life (Milner 2007, 14). The decline has become a major concern to the republic since it reflects the future democracy of the nation. Generally, the decline in total voter turnout has been contributed significantly by the low youth participation in the federal elections. There have been various reasons for the low turnout among the youth which needs to be addressed.
Causes of Low Voter Turnout
One of the major causes of the youth declining to vote is a party having to dominate for a very long time. When there is a possibility that the party in power is more likely to win in an election and that the opposition party does not stand a chance then the youth are disoriented and find no need to participate in the elections as they find it clear that there is no chance of change even if there could be the need for change. On many occasions, there are normally unusual circumstances prevailing at the time of the election. An example is when the liberals took the power in 1963 and were in power even in 1974.
There was a decline from 76.7 percent which was the turnout for 1972 to 71.0 percent which was the turnout for 1974 (Pammett and LeDuc 2003).
Timing is another factor that contributes to low turnout. During summers most eligible voters find themselves away from home for their vacations and most of them normally forfeit the advance polls.
During the winters, there is always a harsh climate that does not allow free movement of people from place to place hence many people forego the elections.
It is therefore important that the government hold the election during the spring season or the fall season.
The youth will not forego their vacations or go out in the extreme weather so as to vote especially if they feel there are no personal benefits attached to the elections.
The registration process is another issue that affects many people. The registration process does not take place on a full-time basis but rather on fixed schedules and venues. Some youth find it hard to fit in those schedules due to commitment in other areas and that at times the registration stations may be far from them. They are also administrative difficulties linked to registering oneself. There is normally a legal requirement before individual registers as a voter. Some youth find it tiresome and decide to drop the whole process of registration hence it contributes to the low turnout by the youth.
Logistic issues also have greatly contributed to the decline because of some people’s nature of work that requires them at the time of elections. Getting to the polling station on the election night is difficult for some people especially if it is a long distance from their residence this is because there may be a need to employ some other forms of transport and some people may not be willing to pay some extra cost for the sake of elections (Pammett and LeDuc 2003). Other people find it difficult to have their days work and then move to their polling stations at night.
Negligence is another factor that has significantly contributed. Most of the youth who fail to turnout for the elections do not care about what goes around them in terms of politics hence do not see the need to participate in the federal elections. They may also find that their vote does not count in the overall outcome thus see no need to vote. Other groups find that there is no need to vote for the parties involved for their own reasons thus decides not to vote. Negligence mostly occurs when people had great hopes for existing governments but end up being frustrated when their expectations are not met and more so when this occurs repeatedly.
The government holds many elections such that they have become monotonous and boring to some people especially the youth and more so if they do not see the need for them. This happens when no change takes place or when people find that the leaders elected were not given enough time to exercise their leadership skills. It is also tiresome and money-consuming for both the government and the common citizens to have so many elections that do not yield any benefits (Pammett and LeDuc 2003). This is especially the misappropriation of funds that would otherwise be used in more relevant areas such as completing other ongoing projects.
Hereditary factors contribute a great deal to the election turnout. It has been discovered that the genetic makeup plays a role in making a voting decision because the youth take their parental genes and behavior. This heredity, therefore, explains why the past trends relating to voting; whether to take part or abstain depends partially on the parents of the young people.
There is a group of people who believe that it is very wrong to engage in politics and they transfer this to their children who in turn transfer to their own children. This inheritance robs the country of a good number of prospective voters.
Much blame is also placed on their electoral system. Canadian’s electoral system is the only one which is referred to as FPTP (First Past the Post) where an individual represents a district and only requires having more votes than the opponent to be declared a winner. This may be discouraging to especially to the youth because the system favors the parties with great support at the regional levels. It also makes some eligible voters feel that there is no need to vote for the losing party hence no need to vote.
The youth also feels neglected by the government and that they are never listened to based on the reasons that they have not yet matured politically. Most of the government representatives are old hence there is an increased gap when trying to understand issues and priorities for the two groups. The youth, therefore, distance themselves waiting for their time to come when they can be heard. They fail to involve with any form of politics including the voting process hence the low turnover. When the government fails to involve the youth in their activities and even the political campaigns themselves they are likely to feel let out hence disinterest themselves from the voting as a way of reacting that they are also not interested in the political issues.
There has also been decreased distrust for the politicians and even the government as a whole.
This has been contributed by the fact that the media has the freedom to transmit almost everything happening in the country on-air thus the character of most politicians is brought to light.
There are normally various instances where some of the government officials are found to be key suspects in various scandals. This leads to the people viewing the politicians as selfish and gluttonous individuals who engage in politics with the aim of benefiting themselves.
Effects of the Decline
The low turnout poses a serious problem in that it is poaching the nation of the future democracy.
The fact that most of the youth are deviating their interest in other fields other than politics, it is clear that there will be a deficit of future leaders as well as voters. The interest of the society is expressed through their vote and lack of it denies the society of their rights. If the problem is experienced there is the tendency of having autocratic leaders thus the nation as a whole suffers from the dictatorial system.
The interest of the majority is reflected through high turnout. If the turnout continues to decline then it is clear that it will be a representation of the people. In cases of low turnouts by youths and high turnout by the older, it ends up imbalanced distribution of money.
Measures Undertaken To Curb the Problem
Enact laws such as compulsory voting. Where laws are enacted, society has no choice but to follow. Some countries such as Australia have strictly enforced policies regarding voting and consequently, it is one of the countries in the world with very high voter turnout. The government should lay down a law that persuades people to vote so that the turnout may be increased.
The government should also come up with ways of easing the voting process. This can be done by coming up with many polling stations, easing access to polling stations through offering transport, allow absentee voting, allow internet voting because it will ease congestion on the voting day, and ensuring that even those who may be out of the country has been allowed to vote, however, it is difficult because of security issues and also a group of people is computer illiterate while others may not access it, declaring of an off day for the workers to allow them to vote is another strategy to ensure high turnout (CBC news. 2009).
The youth were encouraged to vote by targeting them during the advertising campaigns in 2004 (Milner 2004, 32). This was aimed to mobilize them to freely air out their views without criticism by the audience which attracted a lot of people. There were also sponsored trips and prizes for the participants. The use of media such as the Internet and other forms of communication to persuade youths to vote has also proved to work for many countries and has recently been employed by the Canadian government.
In the year 2004, the government made a move by sending cards to young citizens educating them on their voting rights as well as persuading them to register. Some more cards were sent to those young Canadians who had not registered when the election was announced. They were advised to register during the period of revision.
During this time also returning officers appointed community relations officers after an order was issued by the government requiring them to do so. They were to assist students to easily register for the coming elections.
The Canadian government has recently been partnering with various groups such as Cable in the Classroom aimed at creating awareness among peers on their need to vote. There was also the group called Rush to Vote aimed at increasing the number of the youth in the voting exercise through engaging in musical extravaganzas. All these measures plus many more were government initiatives in educating and persuading the youth on the importance of their vote (Pammett and LeDuc 2003).
Reforming the electoral system is another measure that is being undertaken to enable voters to feel that they have a contribution to the final results. This can only be achieved by using the proportional representation method and some of the Canadian provincial governments are today preferring it and opting for it either fully or mixing with their former system of individual member popularity. This method has been used by other countries and proved to produce high turnouts.
Motivation is another factor that needs to be addressed. It is the duty of the government to ensure that despite the time, cost, and energy they undertake activities that are likely to motivate the youth to vote and remind them that they are of great significance in the country like any other person (Pammett and LeDuc 2003). This is likely to raise their morale politically and become more involved. In most cases, people feel that their voting does benefit only the government and find no benefit on their part. It is therefore the role of the government to help them understand that they equally benefit as the government is normally put in place to serve the people.
The Canadian government has also made efforts of understanding the reasons for the decline with the aim of promoting the turnout of the youth by setting a commission to investigate the issue through conducting interviews and surveys. They have succeeded in this and have categorized the various reasons highlighted by most youths and have been working on them accordingly.
Conclusion
Canadian’s decline in election turnover has been contributed significantly by the low youth turnout due to reasons that range from those that have been caused by the government itself or the system of the government that runs the country to those that have been contributed by the voters and that only the voters themselves can work on them through motivation. The government has been working on the problem to see that remedies are found to cure the problem completely and has achieved to a certain degree.
Reference
CBCnews. 2009. Elections Canada advocates online voting to increase turnout. The Canadian Press. Web.
Milner, H. 2004. First past the Post? Progress Report on Electoral Reform Initiatives in the Canadian Provinces. Policy Matters. Montreal: IRPP.
Milner, H. 2007. Political Knowledge and Participation among Young Canadians and Americans. IRPP Working Paper Series. Web.
Pammett, J. H., and L. LeDuc. 2003. Confronting the Problem of Declining Voter Turnout Among Youth. Electoral Insight. Web.
Pammett, J. H., and L. LeDuc. 2003. Explaining the Turnout Decline in Canadian Federal Elections: A New Survey of Non-voters. Ottawa: Elections Canada