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Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Vote for Good Health

The time is upon us. On Monday, October 18, 2010 (that's in less than 2 weeks!), it's time for municipal elections across Alberta. I know, I know... It's not the most interesting thing in the world, and who really has time to care? Well, there are dozens of reasons not to vote, but I'd like to talk about some of the reasons on the plus-side of voting.

There are overall mental and physical health benefits associated with voting.[1] These benefits often come from the sense of self-empowerment that comes with voting.[1] So I guess that if you think that voting is useless and you just go vote because someone tells you to, that's not particularly helpful. But if you think voting is useless or haven't thought about it much at all, you are in charge of your own thoughts and you have the choice to change your mind.

I find that the process of researching who to vote for, as long and tedious as it can be, often brings me a feeling of connection with the community. I start to understand what those around me may be experiencing and I start to get the feeling that things need to change and that voting may help that happen. Thinking that your single vote doesn't change anything is counter-productive; each vote adds to the total and if no one with "regular" lives votes, that leaves only the fanatics to decide elections for you.

A note on municipal elections... I find it interesting that so many people claim that voting doesn't make a difference but that more people show up and vote in federal and provincial elections than in municipal elections where the issues more directly affect each and every citizen's everyday lives. The turnout for the 2007 Edmonton municipal election was just over 27%! The difference between one mayor and another could mean short-term differences in taxes and construction of infrastructure (such as my favourite LRT).

CTV has a very good site to help you with research on your local candidates (for Edmonton). Please be a good citizen of your community and a good example for others... Please vote!

[1] Voting Counts as a Healthy Habit. WebMD. Retrieved October 6, 2010 from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/voting-counts-as-healthy-habit

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