Weighing the issue of low voter turnout

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

It was difficult to miss the irony when last week at the Grand Hotel fewer than 20 people attended a meeting hosted by an all-party provincial government committee to discuss low voter turnout while more than 100 were in the room next door to listen to the founder of Simply for Life.

Irony aside, it was probably apt and illustrated the need for such a committee. Eight MLAs, including Chris d'Entremont of Arygle, Junior Theriault of Digby and Wayne Gaudet of Clare, gathered to hear presentations and comments from the public. There was but only one planned presentation and when the committee opened the floor to anyone in attendance a second presenter came forward.

Michel Sampson, MLA for Richmond and the committee's chair, said as they travel around the province they are beginning to hear re-occurring themes such as a disconnect in the education system. Sampson said there is the perception that students are leaving school without a proper understanding of the way the government works and, as a result, not taking the time to become involved. Another reoccurring theme is the increasing issue of people being less engaged in society in general.

One person in attendance, Donna Sullivan, said she sees a big difference in the way she learned about government as a student and the way her children did as they went through school. Sullivan was a student in the United States for a time. Each year she had a civics class and learned the ins and outs of the various government bodies and what each does. Everyone has the stereotypical image of the American classroom with flags on the walls and children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, but perhaps there is something to that. But Sampson said it's not as simple as just adding more to teachers' lesson plans. "Many teachers will tell you that they're having a hard time meeting the demands of the curriculum as it is with the amount of days they have," he said. "I have no doubt that we're at some point going to ask the Department of Education to come forward and speak to our committee and we can share those concerns and see what sort of constructive recommendations we can make that hopefully will be embraced by teachers and by the education system rather than be seen as an added duty being placed on them."

This disconnect also extends to the home. Sampson said there doesn't seem to be as much discussion at home between parents and children about the democratic system, what it's about and why it's important. This, too, he said, needs to change.

Another element of the system that is turning people away from politics is what people see on television. Images from the House of Commons and the provincial Legislature are sometimes easily confused with recess arguments, a point touched upon by the evening's other presenter, Martha Cassidy. Sampson said that while he understands why some people might not like the behavour, changing it would be difficult. A party that doesn't participate in exchanges can be viewed as disinterested and lacking leadership. The biggest problem at the end of the day, said Sampson, is the presence of the cameras themselves. Finding a way to keep the business of the government open and accessible to the public while also keeping politicians from grandstanding is a difficult task. "All political parties try to make sure that they're on the evening news, that they appear in the paper and to do so they need to get the media's attention," said Sampson. "Unfortunately, because of that competition — especially in Nova Scotia where you have three strong political parties — that increases the amount of stress that there is on the political parties to go the extra mile of trying to get the media's attention."

Short of ensuring equal time in the press for all parities, Sampson said he isn't certain how you would address the matter.

Voter turnout is a problem at all levels of government. The turnout in the Town of Yarmouth for the recent municipal election was just 53 per cent, a six per cent increase from the previous election and the recent federal election saw an all-time low for voter turnout. Sampson said he isn't sure if there is a cure-all for all levels. Each level of government presents its own set of challenges and, for that matter, each area of the country is different. While voter turnout is poor in the Town of Yarmouth and the Municipality of Yarmouth, the Municipality of Clare and the Municipality of Argyle traditionally have some of the higher voter turnouts in the province. "It is difficult to have a cure-all knowing that it is quite different throughout the province," said Sampson.

So how do you get people to care about voting as much as they do about losing weight?

d'Entremont said the government must find a way to show people that issues relating to democracy are every bit as important as issues relating to people's health. Part of this comes down to advertising. While the Simply for Life event was advertised widely and often, there was very little advertising for the committee meeting. This comes down to available dollars, not the amount of importance of each subject.

Sampson said the fact that elected officials are going out of their way to travel the province gathering information in hopes of finding a way of getting more people to vote, should be an indication to people that the act is an important one. "We've made a conscientious decision . . . to try to find ways of having more people involved. I think the challenge for us is that Nova Scotians doesn't see the consequences of low voter turnout. We do. We see how our democracy is not strengthened — it's weakened. People being disengaged is not good for a well-functioning government or well-functioning democracy."