Voting apathy at record highs

Final preparations are underway for Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony at Hamilton city hall. A new mayor and four rookie councillors will join 11 veterans at the council table. And one of the first orders of business will be getting more people out to vote.

Voter turnout in the last municipal election has fallen to an all time low, and that has sparked a move by some councillors to figure out why and what can be done to change it.

It’s a disturbing trend that is being seen in democracies around the globe. Fewer and fewer eligible voters are exercising their right to cast a ballot.

To combat the problem some countries have adopted punitive measures. Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and France all have compulsory voting with small fines issued to anyone who does not comply.

Across Ontario, voter turnout in the last municipal election fell to record lows. The lowest number was in Oshawa at 26%. Hamilton also saw a drop, down 6% from 2010. The one exception was Toronto where a high profile mayoral race drove voters to the polls.

Councillor Sam Merulla: “A lot of us have no frame of reference of not having a democratic environment to work with so we take it for granted. I know my parents who do have the frame of reference never miss an election, ever.”

Mayor-elect Fred Eisenberger: “One of the first things that I want to bring forward is this new voter online voting process that will also encourage more people to vote but also talk to the school boards about educating kids on the electoral process and making sure they participate in every election from grade one through grade 12.”

Another option is direct democracy, where voters have a say in all major decisions.

Larry Pomerantz, Hamilton Civic League: “We could have all voted on whether we want LRT or BRT. We could have voted on the aerotropolis. We could vote on the gas plant All these big decisions. We could vote on the casino on the Pan Am games. There are so many things that we should have a right to vote on because it’s our money that they are using when they finance these decisions that we may or may not support.”

Both Councillor Merulla, and incoming mayor Eisenberger say they plan to bring a motion before council calling for the city to explore every option in hopes of increasing voter turnout before the next election.