Can we break the cycle of voter apathy?

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 28, 2017.

Democracy is more than a once-every-four-years exercise, but it is during elections that the act of voting is the clearest example.

And at every election, pundits begin to fret about generally declining voter participation rates.

Fewer people than ever, it seems, are taking advantage of their rights, it’s true.

There are a number of theories, though the increasingly popular one is that people are disengaged and don’t see the point anymore, or anyone who represents their interests.

The result is that since, they say, there’s no one to vote for, they’re not going to vote.

Unfortunately, this is like settling the argument about the chicken and the egg by cooking the chicken. It doesn’t answer the question and only limits future options.

We’ll stop short of evoking the old finger wag that wonders why the disaffected voter isn’t running him- or herself.

Let’s also toss the adage “if you don’t vote you can’t complain” overboard. It’s self-defeating and reinforces self-disenfranchisement

Nothing pushes feet towards the polls better than issues, of course. Or does it?

The last 15 years in Medicine Hat have hardly been void of controversy or so-called “Big Issues,” but general voter participation has dropped by 10 per cent between 2001 and 2013.

This time out, the big talk in Medicine Hat until Labour Day was whether incumbent mayoral candidate Ted Clugston would be acclaimed as the only candidate by the Oct. 16 election day.

Clugston has long said that would have been a concerning turn of events for a major city, and we agree.

Thankfully in Medicine Hat, there are 19 names for eight councillor seats on the ballot, four for the mayor’s office, and various numbers depending on the voter’s respective school board.

And there are critical questions to be answered in each race.

A public school board vote could be a referendum on the local board’s handling of provincial policy regarding gay-straight alliances.

Catholic education, too, faces storm clouds on the horizon to as court challenges threaten to remove base funding for non-Catholic, but registered students.

City council is in the midst of battling a resource revenue budget crunch that could see taxes rise by 20 to 30 per cent over inflation by 2026 and changes to a host of city services.

It doesn’t get more personal than that, but will it translate to more X’s marked on election day?

Recent voting trends say probably not.

In 2013, about 40 per cent of voters cast ballots during a spirited campaign fought along the lines of economic development and turning a new corner at City Hall.

That was up just barely from 38 per cent in 2010.

In 2007, 47 per cent of Hatters cast ballots to elect a mayor to replace the retiring Garth Vallely.

Similarly, we tickled a 50-per-cent benchmark in 2001 after long-time mayor Ted Grimm announced he wouldn’t seek another term.

A paltry 36 per cent voter turnout rate was registered in 2004.

While the general population seems to have a vote-the-bums-out type of attitude, most won’t get out of bed on election day to do it.

We could have it wrong, however. Voters could be generally satisfied, but unwilling to say so on election day.

Either way, a lack of participation is real and the disconnect very concerning.

Between elections, getting Hatters to go on the record with opinions, praise or opposition to some facet of city hall operation is extremely difficult.

It seems that issues and controversy at election time bring new voices to the fore.

Whether it will result in more bodies in voting booths remains to be seen.