If the last time B.C. voters went to the polls is any indication, you’re just as likely not to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s provincial election as you are to mark your X.
In 2009 just 50 per cent of eligible voters in the province turned out at the polls to make their voice heard.
In fact, voter turnout has been declining steadily since 1983, when 70 per cent of eligible voters in B.C. exercised their franchise.
It’s not like voting is hard work.
Short of knocking on your front door and sticking a ballot under your nose, Elections BC has made it increasingly easier and more convenient for residents to vote.
Advance polls were open from Wednesday until Saturday.
Voters can also cast their ballot at their nearest electoral office until election day. There’s an electoral office in every riding in the province, including Vernon-Monashee and Shuswap, and they’re open until 4 p.m.
It was even possible to vote by mail.
Residents who won’t be in their electoral district on voting day can vote in any other riding in the province.
And while Elections BC has studied the viability of online voting, there’s no guarantee that would increase voter participation.
In Markham, Ontario, where residents have been allowed to vote online in the past three municipal elections, participation didn’t increase, but it also didn’t decline.
So really, there’s no excuse not to vote.
– Black Press
