Voter Apathy: A Sign of the Need for Change

I know I've brought up the health benefits of voting before (see previous blog post A Vote for Good Health), but a federal election is coming up in Canada and I'm saddened by what I'm observing.

I see one group of people who are desperately trying to get people to vote against a particular party to the point where they almost don't care who you vote for otherwise. Others are devoted to a single political party and will vote for that party no matter what has happened in the party or with the leader. Some people take the time to research current events and make an informed decision election by election.

But even with all these types of voters and more, what I see the most lately is apathy for this election. Looking at the 2000 Canadian general election, statistics show that most people who did not vote didn't like the choices of parties/candidates, had a sense that their vote wouldn't matter, or didn't care about the issues.^[1] I might even go to say that there is a distinct lack of hope in Canadian voters and it's gotten worse over the past few years. I really think people feel that it doesn't really matter who they vote for, nothing will change anyway. Isn't it funny that here in a supposed democracy, people feel like they have no power? If we were living under a dictator, we might be rising up for our rights but because we still have some perceived freedoms we throw up our hands and say that the loss of our democratic rights, erosion of our health care system, slow deterioration of our beautiful environment and many other things are simply out of our control. My heart breaks just thinking about it all.

ANY political party that tells you that this is not the time for change is lying. The lack of hope and power of the individual Canadian is a clear sign that change is needed and as soon as possible. What can you do? Well, at the very least, if you are Canadian or when it comes time for your own country's elections, please vote. If you don't like the leaders, vote based on the candidates in your own riding. If you want to do more, start speaking up for voting system reform. Educate yourself about voting system reform and the different options. Write to your representative and ask for change.

If you think that the issues in this election don't matter to you, then you have missed something because this election affects all Canadians. Please vote!

If you are looking for more information on voting...
Elections Canada
Election Almanac
Fair Vote Canada
Rick Mercer's Rant on Youth Vote
Join a Vote Mob

[1] Rhonda Parkinson. Voter Turnout in Canada, 2007. Accessed April 18, 2011 from http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/voter-turnout-canada

Image: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net