Democracy didn’t fail us, we failed democracy

The only vote that doesn’t carry weight is the ballot not cast

I’m writing in response to a submission in the Readers Write column on Saturday, June 23. The writer expressed his dismay about the fact that 40 per cent of the electorate in Ontario has chosen our political path for the next four years. Voter apathy was mentioned, and the possibility that our vote doesn’t make a difference, and we need to change to a system of proportionate representation, where all votes have weight.

The writer said democracy failed us, but I would title this comment, “We are Failing our Democracy.” I’m not sure what “proportionate representation” means, because all votes do have weight, even if that vote does not provide the outcome that the voter wanted or expected. In my opinion, the only vote that truly doesn’t have weight is the ballot that is not cast. Is the writer suggesting that some votes should have more “weight” than others? If that were true, that starts our society down the slippery slope toward elitism, and who decides? If 40 per cent of Ontario’s eligible voters put Doug Ford into office as our premier, and some people find that distasteful, then we’ve only got ourselves to blame. If Trump’s base, the 30 per cent of American voters who believed his navel-gazing sales pitch succeeded in putting him in the White House, they bear a like responsibility.

Voter apathy, particularly among younger, eligible voters, is a very real problem, so how do you reverse this trend of not caring sufficiently about the health of our democratic process? There are various methods used around the world. In some countries voting is compulsory, and in some cases fines for not voting can be levied and, if repeated, the right to vote for an individual can be suspended. Australia, Belgium and Switzerland are countries that have compulsory voting laws. Critics of this compulsory voting system argue that forcing people to vote does not necessarily ensure an informed vote. If a voter is apathetic and you force him to vote, there is no assurance that they will be any more inclined to research the issues and make sound political decisions.

If the thought of forcing citizens to vote is distasteful, then consider using the carrot rather than the stick. If the shame of not participating, or the frustration of outcomes condoned by not voting don’t motivate us sufficiently, I would propose that an income tax credit for voting could be a potential incentive to encourage greater participation in the democratic process. In Canada, as an example, let’s assume in the normal course of events, there are three elections in four years at local, provincial, and federal levels, and that this tax credit could be earned by eligible voters. Governments routinely use our tax money to provide incentives for a number of social and environmental issues. Why not incentivize voting this way? I think paying ourselves to participate in our democracy could have merit, and thus assure that the outcome of our elections more accurately represent the intentions of the people.

The next difficult job would be getting our politicians to agree, because Trump’s victory in 2016 could be providing a useful blueprint that allows for more distorted, isolationist thinking to prevail politically — in fact, it could explain what’s happened in the last Ontario election. Time will tell! That type of response to the problems of the world is the exact opposite of what we need right now.