Voter registration should be easier

Nov. 5 was municipal election day all over the province. I guarantee youth will be under-represented.

Making it impossible to register and to vote on the same day makes it more difficult for unregistered voters to vote. As the official who explained I would not be able to vote — despite my proof of address and residency — assured me, though, it “really doesn’t matter, since not much gets decided in these elections.” I disagree. Elections matter, that’s why I showed up. I was ushered out without casting my vote.

Who are the unregistered? Potentially, anyone who has moved since the last election. Who moves a lot? Young people. People who do not own property. People who are forced to relocate for jobs. People who don’t have a fixed address. When I moved to my apartment in Westmount, I supplied my new address to the two provincial bodies overseeing my health card and my driver’s licence, but neither forwarded my information for voting registration.

You may say that I should have gone to register. Perhaps, but you need to do this in person on very specific dates. I was on a business trip and out of the country. It was physically impossible.

I see no reason not to have a registration table set up at polling stations or a simple registration that can be done online on the day of the election. The provincial law that disallows this makes it more difficult for younger and poorer sections of the population to vote. We should be working to make voting easier.

Heidi Monk, Westmount