Students under voting age try hand in parallel election
They’ll vote for a candidate in their school’s riding
About 180,000 elementary and high school students across B.C. will have their say in a parallel election running at 1,220 schools until Monday.
Although the kids are under the voting age, they’ll vote for a candidate in their school’s riding and the results will be released after polls close on election day, said Dan Allan, content director for CIVIX, the non-partisan charity that runs the vote.
“The main purpose is to get young people under the voting age engaged and enthusiastic about politics and how voting works, so that when they do turn 18, they continue to vote,” he explained.
Teresa Nguyen is committed to voting in the next election. The Grade 10 student at David Thompson Secondary in Vancouver volunteered to be a voting clerk and scrutineer for her school’s student election, spending Friday’s ProD day tabulating votes.
When asked if her fellow students were interested in the election, she said many took the time during their lunch break or after school to cast a ballot.
“It’s our future, so it’s something we should care about,” she said.
Teacher Kari Hewett said CIVIX’s student vote program fits well with the B.C. Social Studies curriculum and staff ensure students are educated about the different parties and platforms. CIVIX provides free learning materials, including videos, as well as the election supplies. Student volunteers take on the roles of election workers.
“Some people think students don’t have enough critical-thinking skills, but I’m finding they’re interested in the issues and they know what matters to them,” said Hewett, adding she hoped the experience was “empowering” for kids.
Grade 11 student Simran Jeet said the vote was good practice for when she’s old enough to vote.
Voters under 35 usually have the lowest turnout in Canadian elections. In the 2013 provincial election, less than half of registered voters ages 18 to 24 cast a ballot, while less than 40 per cent of those ages 25 to 34 voted.
Allan said research shows that if a young person doesn’t vote the first time they’re eligible, they are less likely to vote in the future.
A survey of participating students administered at the beginning of the campaign showed that health care was their top election issue (20.1 per cent), followed by poverty (17.1 per cent), education (15.6 per cent), affordable housing (14.2 per cent) and the environment (13.5 per cent).
The results of the student vote will be released after the general election polls close Tuesday night.