Amid the twists and turns of our current province’s general election campaign a band of voters remain undecided, switching back and forth in their thinking. These voters find themselves wondering whether to cast their vote with an eye on their riding candidates or in line with party leaders and/or platforms.
No doubt, unfortunately, as in the last two Ontario provincial general elections many voters will not vote at all. Sadly, many Ontarians take too lightly our right to vote failing to appreciate that many around the world enjoy no such freedom.
“In the last two elections, barely half of Ontarians bothered to cast a ballot — an embarrassing 48 per cent voted in 2011, and a dispiriting 51 per cent turned out in 2014.
They were the worst showings by civic no-shows in our democratic history. And far worse turnouts than in any other provincial or federal election ever.
“A new public opinion survey conducted for the Toronto Star ahead of the Ryerson Democracy Forum suggests that the very authority of our elected governments is being undermined by those meagre voter turnouts.” The Star, Feb.26/18 by Martin Regg Cohn
Hopefully, the increase in advance polling numbers, up about 20% more than 2014, as cited by Global News anchor Shauna Cunningham, may be a positive indication that civic engagement might be on the increase rather than merely the case that voters are casting their vote early to avoid election day line ups.
If you haven’t voted yet, please make a commitment to do so. Every vote cast is one very important vote for democracy.