Low voter turnout can be resolved
And we have about three more years to make it happen
The recent provincial election left Nova Scotians wondering about the ability of their electoral system to get the vote out.
While voter turnout was heavy in the advance polls in May, it failed to materialize on Election Day. Only 53.55 per cent of qualified voters exercised their vote. And they were the voters who elected Stephen McNeil’s majority government with only 39.5 per cent of their votes cast.
So we need to ask why. Are we hosting an electoral system that permanently distorts the will of the electorate? Approximately 60 per cent of those who voted did not want this Liberal government. They are, in fact, the majority of voters who supported the opposition parties. And now they make up a divided ‘minority’ in our legislative assembly.
We know that, instinctively, people resent it when a minority governs a legitimate majority? The McNeil government was handed a majority in the legislature by a minority of voters, but nowhere near a majority of the popular vote.
Because of this we can expect public flare-ups against the McNeil government as they unfold their legislative agenda in the months ahead. We may witness even more angered demonstrations and organized anti-government rallies as we saw last year with the teachers, nurses, doctors and unions.
Less people voting almost always distorts election results. There has been a downward pattern trend in voter turnout since 2000. For decades voter turnout in Nova Scotia was on average 75 per cent on voting day. Our democracy was indeed stronger then.
In research on voter participation, the most common reasons given by non-voters in surveys are: “I was too busy” and “I couldn’t remember when the election was.” Other reasons included “Didn’t want to” and “My vote wouldn’t make a difference.”
What can be done to change this narrative?
One option could be to establish a ‘Voters Day’ as a provincial holiday (Our Democracy Day). It would be designated specifically to enhance voter turnout. And it would demonstrate the province’s historic respect for democratic values. Such a special day would very likely increase voter turnout in more respectable numbers.
Adding to the predictability of an Election Day would be to fix the election dates. Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada that does not fix that date. And so we watch cynically as the premier eludes direct questions on when the next election will be – all while his government unveils millions of dollars of campaign promises and perks. It is a disingenuous approach to our most significant democratic right.
Some recent letters to the Cape Breton Post have called for creating a dependable and secure system of e-voting as a way of boosting voter turnout. The key words are dependable and secure and we’re not there yet.
Unexpected computer glitches and system malfunctions could throw an election into disarray. As it is, just counting hard copy ballots caused unexpected delays in reporting the results of last month’s provincial election. Electronic voting might be the answer for providing more speed and accuracy, if we get the kinks out of the system.
Another way of encouraging a larger proportion of people to exercise their voting rights is to make voting compulsory. It is controversial. Some people regard it as distasteful because it is mandatory. Nevertheless, they pay their taxes, serve on juries and do other mandatory “civic duties.”
After all is said and done, we need a government and we need to elect one. It is our responsibility and a public duty. The pubic good supersedes any private reluctance to have to do the right thing.
Perhaps the most difficult thing to do is reform our electoral system. Three provinces have tried and failed to adopt some form of proportional representation. And this year the Trudeau government abandoned its federal election campaign pledge to do it by 2019. So it’s not likely Nova Scotia will have the political will to even take it on.
Our first-past-the post electoral system has built-in disincentives for voter turnout. The rules of our electoral system favour the traditional political parties and discourage the success of minor parties. Voters can judge whether their vote will affect the results before the election is held. So why vote?
Remember only about 39.5 per cent of all votes cast in this election supported McNeil’s government. That’s about the same percentage of voters who elected Donald Trump as president under the same system. First-past-the post regularly produces an undesirable minority result. This minority cluster of voters can have serious consequences on the leadership we choose and for the policies that will affect all of us. Do we want to retain a system that produces these outcomes?
Nearly 260 years ago Nova Scotia led the world of government by establishing the first democratic representative assembly in 1758. As the cradle of responsible government since the 18th century, Nova Scotia should strive to meet its own democratic standards on representation.
The goal is to do everything necessary to reflect the will of the majority and respect the rights of minorities. That means more people should be voting.
“One option could be to establish a ‘Voters Day’ as a provincial holiday.”