Polls are a funny thing.
The questions offered in polls, such as the weekly poll on our website, midwesternnewspapers.com, are usually related to the hot issue of the day.
Last week, we asked readers if they plan on voting in the municipal election on Oct. 24.
Sixty-three per cent of respondents said yes, with the remaining 37 per cent saying no.
On paper, 63 per cent is an impressive number. Municipalities across Ontario would be ecstatic if 63 per cent of the population turned out to vote.
I was elated that 63 per cent of our readers plan on voting next month.
When I looked at the back-end data on our website, I went from elated to deflated. Our poll last week only had 16 respondents, 10 of whom plan on voting.
Sixty-three per cent doesn’t look so good now, considering we have exponentially more readers and visitors to our website each week.
Initially, I looked at my computer screen and wondered why the numbers were so low. Did we launch our poll at the wrong time? Did we use wording that wasn’t exciting? Should we have picked a different question?
Then it dawned on me – the turnout is about par for the course when it comes to elections in Ontario.
Unfortunately, as data from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) shows, the 2018 election saw poor voter turnout across a majority of the province.
In our readership area, turnout was as follows:
- – Brockton – 49.03 per cent;
- – South Bruce – 46.57 per cent;
- – Arran-Elderslie – 54.34 per cent;
- – Hanover – 48.64 per cent;
- – West Grey – 42.18 per cent;
- North Perth – 30.84 per cent;
- Perth East – 42.69 per cent;
- Minto – 51.67 per cent;
- Howick – 38.5 per cent;
- Huron East – 37.64 per cent;
- North Huron – 50.57 per cent;
- Howick – 38.5 per cent;
- Morris-Turnberry – 37.56 per cent;
- Huron-Kinloss – 38.82 per cent; and
- ACW – 36.21 per cent.
Minto had a voter turnout over 50 per cent, and that number will surely fall come 2026 as all council positions have been acclaimed in this election due to a lack of candidates. All of Howick’s council positions were acclaimed as well this year, so I expect that number to drop next election.
North Perth, a booming municipality with 9,687 eligible voters in 2018, had a poor turnout by any standard except baseball, where hitting 3-for-10 is considered great. This year, that number should be higher has all council positions are being contested for, and a number of new faces have stepped forward to put their name on the ballot.
Arran-Elderslie had a majority of eligible voters turn out, but being in the 42-49 per cent range is pretty good compared to other municipalities.
I expect we will see voter turnout increase in some local elections, as South Bruce has the highly contentious deep geological repository issue and West Grey has 14 people running for five councillor seats. Hanover also has a race for its five councillor seats. North Huron also saw a voter turnout over 50 per cent in 2018. I expect the same will happen again in 2022 with the massive influx of candidates.
With that said, will voter turnout be higher in October?
I hope so.
Democracy is founded on the idea that the whole population, in our case those over the age of 18, elects our leaders.
Other than a bit of time, voting doesn’t cost you anything. But not voting can cost you more.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but municipal government is the level of government that dictates how the majority of your property tax dollars are spent. They are the ones who choose what roads will be paved, what programs will be offered, what arenas will have ice in them this winter, and how often your streets will be plowed.
Yet, ask a majority of your friends and neighbours if they plan on voting, and they’ll give you a reason why they won’t.
“They don’t do anything for me.”
“Why should I care? It’s not like they listen to us anyway.”
“Council only cares about (insert ward name here).”
“The person I want to vote for won’t win anyway, so what’s the point?”
For those of you who aren’t planning to vote, I encourage you to rethink your plan.
Imagine what could happen if all of the people who believe their vote won’t amount to anything, actually vote. And if those you vote for do get elected and keep their campaign promises, what would your municipality look like?
For those who are planning to vote, I encourage you to talk to friends and relatives that are not planning to vote and to convince them to give democracy a shot.
In school, you needed a grade of 50 per cent (in most classes, sometimes higher) to receive a passing grade. A majority is considered 50 per cent plus one vote. Why should we, as voters, accept anything under 50 per cent as a passing grade when it comes to a municipal election?
We shouldn’t.
If you are unsure if you are eligible to vote, visit www.voterlookup.ca. Make sure you are on the list, and ready to vote on Oct. 24.
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Mike Wilson is the editor of Midwestern Newspapers. Comments and feedback are welcome at mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com.
