I was seeking through radio stations this morning on my way to work, and I eventually found one that was playing some decent classic rock. After a few songs the usual redundant block of commercials began to air. Typically my ears zone out away from listening to the radio when the ads play, but one special 30-second spot caught my attention. The voice on the radio was telling me to do something that I had never heard before….Vote. Not to vote for a specific candidate or against a certain ballot initiative, but rather just going to the polls and voting. It told me how to register to vote, how to find something called an “advanced polling location”, and then blamed me for a decline in society for not voting. Then it said something else…Canada. This was an advertisement from Elections Ontario, a “nonpartisan agency of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.” That’s right, this is Ontario’s version of the Secretary of State!
When was the last time you saw the Michigan Secretary of State’s office advertise to us, the general public, about voting? Now I understand why Canada has higher voter turnout rates that the United States. Their elections officers reach out to citizens instead of pushing them away and creating barriers for them to get to the polls. Canada averages 65-70% on major governmental elections while here we go to the polls at a rate of 50-55% (although the percentage is rising as major election reform begins to take place throughout the country). They also offer polls that are open weeks before the actual election day for those citizens who will be out of town and prefer not to hassle with mail-in ballots (concept we call “early voting” in the election-reform business), and require employers to provide three consecutive hours of polling time versus the United States’ one.
However, all things are not great in Canada, as youth (18-24) voter turnout is slightly lower than the United States, and is actually in decline while here it is rising. I guess there aren’t as many great student-led organizations such as the United States Student Association, Rock the Vote, and the Eastern Votes Coalition, in Canada as there are here. Oh well, at least Elections Ontario has a sweet slogan: VOTING: Every Day It Matters.
