Dear disengaged voter,
I don’t know what you have planned on Monday but it would be great if you could swing by your polling station and engage in democracy.
I realize the Blue Jays will be playing that night and the team has way more support than any of the party leaders ever will but it is our civic duty to vote.
On Monday, it is important that you include voting in your pre-game ritual.
Wear your blues if you must, the Conservatives will be glad you did.
The polling station won’t be fancy, there won’t be any beer and peanuts or a flat-screen TV, and I wish I could tell you that you will leave with a great sense of satisfaction but I don’t want to be delusive.
Nevertheless, I implore you to go vote.
I realize that you couldn’t get out to the advance polls because they happen to fall on Thanksgiving weekend and you were standing guard over a turkey, if not on the road to family functions.
So Monday is the day.
Because you are disengaged and have lost track of all the issues in this, the longest federal election in history, you have a greater challenge than in past years. You must find something to motivate you to cast that ballot or you will be another statistic.
In the 2011 federal election, voter turnout was 61.1 per cent (not an all time low but a close second to the federal election in 2008).
You are a resident of the Simcoe-Grey riding and there are five candidates on the ballot. Our MP Kellie Leitch, who won with 49.37 per cent of votes last time around, is sharing the ballot with Liberal Mike MacEachern, NDP David Matthews, Green JoAnne Fleming and Len Noordegraaf of the Christian Heritage Party.
Voters should have received their voter cards by now but if you didn’t, that’s no excuse not to vote.
You can register to vote at the polling station, just before you vote, with proof of name and address.
All you have to do is show your driver’s licence or any other government card with your photo, name and current address. If your identification doesn’t show your current address, bring ID and something that reflects your current address. Failing all that, you can take an oath if there is someone present who knows you and can attest to your address. (This person must show proof of identity and address, be registered in the same polling division, and attest for only one person, all according to Elections Canada.)
With the technicalities covered, you are running out of excuses, with one glaring exception. Maybe you don’t know who to vote for. I can’t help you there.