{"id":13574,"date":"2021-09-24T09:01:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T13:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/?p=13574"},"modified":"2025-05-25T07:15:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T11:15:16","slug":"no-one-should-be-surprised-by-low-voter-turnout-in-trudeaus-selfish-unnecessary-summer-snap-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/no-one-should-be-surprised-by-low-voter-turnout-in-trudeaus-selfish-unnecessary-summer-snap-election\/","title":{"rendered":"No one should be surprised by low voter turnout in Trudeau\u2019s selfish, unnecessary summer snap electionNo one should be surprised by low voter turnout in Trudeau\u2019s selfish, unnecessary summer snap election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Snap election call during August holiday period, party misleaders, voting system, weak political ethics laws and platforms, and pandemic combine to lower voter turnout to about 62 percent<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/b>
Friday, September 24, 2021<\/p>\n\n

OTTAWA \u2013 Today, in response to low voter turnout in Prime Minister Trudeau\u2019s selfish and unnecessary summer snap election, Democracy Watch called for democratic changes to the federal political system to increase voter turnout. Initial results show that the Trudeau Liberals have won 47% (159 out of 338) of the seats in the House of Commons with the support of only 20% of eligible voters, which raises serious questions about their mandate to govern, let alone implement any specific law or policy.<\/p>\n\n

Only about 62% of eligible voters<\/a> cast a ballot, which puts the election among the five federal elections with the lowest turnout<\/a> in Canadian history (2011, 2008, 2004, 2000 and 1896). A total of about 32.5% of the ballots cast were for the Liberals.<\/p>\n\n

Voter turnout likely decreased in part because of Trudeau\u2019s summer snap election call which led to the cancellation of on-campus polling stations<\/a> and the reduction in polling stations<\/a> in many ridings that caused long lineups on election day, as well as problems with the mail-in ballot system<\/a>. However, even the 67-68% turnout in the 2015 and 2019 elections is still significantly below the turnout levels of 75% or more in many elections in the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWith only about 62 percent of voters casting ballots in the federal election, the fifth lowest turnout ever, and only 20 percent of eligible voters supporting the winning party, alarm bells should be going off and questions raised about the legitimacy of the federal government,\u201d <\/em>said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. \u201cVoter turnout will go up significantly only if honesty is required in politics, the voting system is changed to a proportional system with the right to vote none-of-the-above, and political ethics and government accountability laws are strengthened.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Federal parties must ensure make the following changes if they want to increase voter turnout to the past level of about 75% in many elections in the 1970s and 1980s, or even higher:<\/p>\n\n

    \n \t
  1. Pass an honesty-in-politics law<\/a> that gives voters an easy, low-cost way to file complaints to the Ethics Commissioner, and requires the Commissioner to penalize misleaders (and requires MPs who switch parties in-between elections to resign and run in a by-election), and also enact effective measures to stop false claims during elections<\/a>, especially online;<\/li>\n \t
  2. Add the right to vote \u201cnone of the above\u201d and to give a reason<\/a> on election and by-election ballots;<\/li>\n \t
  3. Move the fixed election date to the last Monday in October to make it easier for people with kids, and students, to follow and participate in the election campaign and have the identification needed to vote. Democracy Watch has filed a court case challenging Trudeau\u2019s snap election call<\/a> as a violation of the fixed election date measures in Canada\u2019s election law,<\/li>\n \t
  4. Change the voting system<\/a> to provide a more accurate representation of the popular vote results in each election in the seats held by each party in the legislature (as in many other countries) while ensuring that all elected officials are supported by, and are accountable to, voters in each riding\/constituency (with a safeguard to ensure that a party with a low-level, narrow-base of support does not have a disproportionately high level of power in the legislature), and;<\/li>\n \t
  5. Strengthen<\/a> federal political ethics, political finance, lobbying, open government, and whistleblower protection laws (the Green Party received the best grade of C- in overall bad grades in DWatch\u2019s Report Card on the parties\u2019 election platforms<\/a>);<\/li>\n \t
  6. Mandate Elections Canada to spend the $5 million or so it spends each election on voter education advertising on ads that include the following two key messages in their voter education advertising and communications \u2013 the real reasons to vote \u2013 which its partner organization Democracy Education Network<\/a> includes in its VoteParty.ca<\/a> and VotePromise.ca<\/a> voter turnout initiatives:\n
      \n \t
    1. \u201cYou never know when your vote may count\u201d<\/em> \u2014 with examples from past elections, and from specific ridings in various elections, which show clearly that election results cannot be predicted in advance, and;<\/li>\n \t
    2. \u201cIf you don\u2019t vote, you don\u2019t count\u201d<\/em> \u2014 making it clear that politicians don\u2019t really care about you if you don\u2019t vote because non-voters do not help them get elected or defeated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      These changes will make it easy and give voters many more compelling reasons to vote as they will know that voting for a specific party will mean their vote will count and the party\u2019s promises will be kept, and they will be more assured of democratic, accountable good government overall no matter which party wins.<\/p>\n\n

      \u201cMore and more voters know from their experience of the past few decades of elections that they are not going to get what they vote for, and are likely to get dishonest, secretive, unethical, unrepresentative and wasteful government no matter which party they vote for, and as a result no one should be surprised to see voter turnout at such a low level,\u201d<\/em> said Conacher.<\/p>\n\n

      These problems exist in all the provinces and territories across Canada. All of these changes should be made by the federal and provincial and territorial governments, and for their municipalities, before mandatory voting<\/a> is even considered because forcing voters to vote creates false legitimacy for political parties and politicians (and mandatory voting must never be implemented unless \u201cnone of the above\u201d is one of the options on the ballot). Internet<\/a> voting should also not even be considered<\/a> currently given it would dangerously undermine the integrity of the voting system<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

      – 30 –<\/p>\n

      FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:<\/strong>
      Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
      Tel: (613) 241-5179
      Cell: 416-546-3443
      Email:       info@democracywatch.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

      Democracy Watch\u2019s Democratic Voting System Campaign<\/a><\/p>\n\n

      Snap election call during August holiday period, party misleaders, voting system, weak political ethics laws and platforms, and pandemic combine to lower voter turnout to about 62 percent<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/b>
      Friday, September 24, 2021<\/p>\n\n

      OTTAWA \u2013 Today, in response to low voter turnout in Prime Minister Trudeau\u2019s selfish and unnecessary summer snap election, Democracy Watch called for democratic changes to the federal political system to increase voter turnout. Initial results show that the Trudeau Liberals have won 47% (159 out of 338) of the seats in the House of Commons with the support of only 20% of eligible voters, which raises serious questions about their mandate to govern, let alone implement any specific law or policy.<\/p>\n\n

      Only about 62% of eligible voters<\/a> cast a ballot, which puts the election among the five federal elections with the lowest turnout<\/a> in Canadian history (2011, 2008, 2004, 2000 and 1896). A total of about 32.5% of the ballots cast were for the Liberals.<\/p>\n\n

      Voter turnout likely decreased in part because of Trudeau\u2019s summer snap election call which led to the cancellation of on-campus polling stations<\/a> and the reduction in polling stations<\/a> in many ridings that caused long lineups on election day, as well as problems with the mail-in ballot system<\/a>. However, even the 67-68% turnout in the 2015 and 2019 elections is still significantly below the turnout levels of 75% or more in many elections in the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n\n

      \u201cWith only about 62 percent of voters casting ballots in the federal election, the fifth lowest turnout ever, and only 20 percent of eligible voters supporting the winning party, alarm bells should be going off and questions raised about the legitimacy of the federal government,\u201d <\/em>said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. \u201cVoter turnout will go up significantly only if honesty is required in politics, the voting system is changed to a proportional system with the right to vote none-of-the-above, and political ethics and government accountability laws are strengthened.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

      Federal parties must ensure make the following changes if they want to increase voter turnout to the past level of about 75% in many elections in the 1970s and 1980s, or even higher:<\/p>\n\n

        \n \t
      1. Pass an honesty-in-politics law<\/a> that gives voters an easy, low-cost way to file complaints to the Ethics Commissioner, and requires the Commissioner to penalize misleaders (and requires MPs who switch parties in-between elections to resign and run in a by-election), and also enact effective measures to stop false claims during elections<\/a>, especially online;<\/li>\n \t
      2. Add the right to vote \u201cnone of the above\u201d and to give a reason<\/a> on election and by-election ballots;<\/li>\n \t
      3. Move the fixed election date to the last Monday in October to make it easier for people with kids, and students, to follow and participate in the election campaign and have the identification needed to vote. Democracy Watch has filed a court case challenging Trudeau\u2019s snap election call<\/a> as a violation of the fixed election date measures in Canada\u2019s election law,<\/li>\n \t
      4. Change the voting system<\/a> to provide a more accurate representation of the popular vote results in each election in the seats held by each party in the legislature (as in many other countries) while ensuring that all elected officials are supported by, and are accountable to, voters in each riding\/constituency (with a safeguard to ensure that a party with a low-level, narrow-base of support does not have a disproportionately high level of power in the legislature), and;<\/li>\n \t
      5. Strengthen<\/a> federal political ethics, political finance, lobbying, open government, and whistleblower protection laws (the Green Party received the best grade of C- in overall bad grades in DWatch\u2019s Report Card on the parties\u2019 election platforms<\/a>);<\/li>\n \t
      6. Mandate Elections Canada to spend the $5 million or so it spends each election on voter education advertising on ads that include the following two key messages in their voter education advertising and communications \u2013 the real reasons to vote \u2013 which its partner organization Democracy Education Network<\/a> includes in its VoteParty.ca<\/a> and VotePromise.ca<\/a> voter turnout initiatives:\n
          \n \t
        1. \u201cYou never know when your vote may count\u201d<\/em> \u2014 with examples from past elections, and from specific ridings in various elections, which show clearly that election results cannot be predicted in advance, and;<\/li>\n \t
        2. \u201cIf you don\u2019t vote, you don\u2019t count\u201d<\/em> \u2014 making it clear that politicians don\u2019t really care about you if you don\u2019t vote because non-voters do not help them get elected or defeated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          These changes will make it easy and give voters many more compelling reasons to vote as they will know that voting for a specific party will mean their vote will count and the party\u2019s promises will be kept, and they will be more assured of democratic, accountable good government overall no matter which party wins.<\/p>\n\n

          \u201cMore and more voters know from their experience of the past few decades of elections that they are not going to get what they vote for, and are likely to get dishonest, secretive, unethical, unrepresentative and wasteful government no matter which party they vote for, and as a result no one should be surprised to see voter turnout at such a low level,\u201d<\/em> said Conacher.<\/p>\n\n

          These problems exist in all the provinces and territories across Canada. All of these changes should be made by the federal and provincial and territorial governments, and for their municipalities, before mandatory voting<\/a> is even considered because forcing voters to vote creates false legitimacy for political parties and politicians (and mandatory voting must never be implemented unless \u201cnone of the above\u201d is one of the options on the ballot). Internet<\/a> voting should also not even be considered<\/a> currently given it would dangerously undermine the integrity of the voting system<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

          – 30 –<\/p>\n

          FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:<\/strong>
          Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
          Tel: (613) 241-5179
          Cell: 416-546-3443
          Email:           info@democracywatch.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

          Democracy Watch\u2019s Democratic Voting System Campaign<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Snap election call during August holiday period, party misleaders, voting system, weak political ethics laws and platforms, and pandemic combine to lower voter turnout to about 62 percent FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Friday, September 24, 2021 OTTAWA \u2013 Today, in response to low voter turnout in Prime Minister Trudeau\u2019s selfish and unnecessary summer snap election, Democracy Watch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13574"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18403,"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13574\/revisions\/18403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democracywatch.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}