Every time another election rolls around, we Canadians start to grumble. We complain about the cost of the election, the ridiculous amount of money spent on obnoxious campaign ads that are nothing more than mudslinging contests. We complain about taking time, yet again, to go cast our vote for another politician we don’t trust anyway.
Elections Canada reported a 58.8% voter turnout at the October 18th, 2008 Federal Election. That is the lowest turnout since the September 29th, 1898 referendum vote which had a 44.6% turnout. In the 2006 election, 64.7% turned out and previous to that in 2004, 60.9%. Better, but not much.
Call me simple, but wouldn’t the addition of the ability to vote online solve a few problems? I’m aware that the immediate concerns are security and the ability of hackers to upset the counts. Yet we bank online, we shop online, we submit our taxes online, there are databases utilized for policing and all levels of government and the list goes on. So make it secure! I think you’d find a significant change in those voter percentages if you saved the voters the hassle of going to polling stations. If the polling stations provided computers to cast votes electronically the entire process would be faster and more efficient. Re-counts not required. Think about the green effects with the paperless system, the statistical reporting advantages, and the decrease in staffing requirements. Most importantly, there would be more votes. With all the advances in technology, why are we still casting votes with pencil and paper, and counting votes by hand?
The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada on the 40th Election states that we spent $288.2 million for the election which includes a $57.9 million reimbursement to candidates and parties. Eliminate the reimbursement completely and perhaps the candidates and parties would spend their campaign money more carefully. Perhaps voters might even feel a little better about having to cast their vote again. A little.
Those are my immediate thoughts on the process of election, which in reality make no difference. The only difference I can make is with my vote, which will aid in putting a candidate into office where he or she can effectively hide behind their party without having to bother with thoughts of their own.
