Bad things happen when people choose not to vote. All you have to do is look south of the border at the Trump administration, which is taking us closer to nuclear war on an almost weekly basis. American voters are among the most ill-informed citizens in the developed world and fewer than 60 per cent of them vote.
In terms of voter turnout in Canada and BC, we are scarcely any better. In the last provincial election, just 55 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots. All sorts of reasons have been put forward to explain this disturbing reality, but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that people just do not value democracy.
In third world countries the turnout is often more than 85 per cent. People line up for hours for the privilege of voting, perhaps because they have not always had that privilege.
When asked why they choose not to vote, people give a variety of answers to rationalize their decision: “They’re all the same,” “I don’t vote, it just encourages them,” “I’m too busy” or “I’m not interested in politics.”
The latter response is curious given that politics has a huge impact on people’s lives. How many people would allow a stranger to choose their restaurant meal or pick out a new shirt for them? Yet when they choose not to vote they are letting other people decide what policies are implemented by government.
These policies cover a huge swath of things that affect our daily lives involving health care, child care, education, the environment, transportation, child welfare, housing, electricity rates, ferry service and much more.
Another reason people choose not to vote is relatively new. In the past 25 years, life for most working families has become so precarious, work itself so stressful, wages so flat and personal debt so high that many people barely have time for themselves and family, let alone politics. Becoming what I call intentional citizens, those who consciously take time to learn about the issues and vote accordingly, is increasingly difficult.
According to a 2012 national work-life balance study conducted by professors at Carleton University and University of Western Ontario, more than 60 per cent of Canadians were working more than 45 hours a week. Over half took an average of seven hours of work home with them. The study concluded that the majority of working people effectively “had no family life.”
If you think all political parties and governments are the same, consider that the ever-worsening working conditions are the direct result of current government policies: non-enforcement of labour standards, the gutting of EI, punitive social assistance rates and poverty-level minimum wages.
No matter what party is in power, unless intentional citizens hold their feet to the fire, governments will not deliver. On May 9, it is up to you.
Murray Dobbin is a Powell River freelance writer and social commentator.
