Tim Collins/News contributor
Young people are apathetic when it comes to voting.
It’s a truism you may have heard but, according to the Chairperson of the British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS) Simka Marshall, it’s a claim without merit.
With the provincial election only weeks away, BCFS has undertaken a program aimed at smashing the stereotypes of young people as being uninterested and disengaged from the political process. In a program entitled Students Are Voting, young people at 14 universities and colleges in every region of B.C. are reaching out to their peers to encourage them to get out and vote.
“In the last provincial election, the outcome really was decided by seven ridings in the province. It was fewer than 3,300 votes that actually made the difference,” said Marshall.
She points to the fact that, in North Saanich, the outcome was decided by only 163 votes, and stresses that it was a margin that was still higher than in other places.
“In Coquitlam-Maillardville the difference came down to 41 votes. We’re looking at those numbers and stressing that every vote matters and could make the difference in deciding who wins the election.”
The program at Camosun College the student union is on campus, asking students to sign a pledge to vote for the candidate of their choice.
To date they have managed to obtain more than 3,000 pledges and hope to double that number by the time of the election.
“The fact is that young people feel the urgency. This election could be very close and every single vote is important,” said Marshall, pointing to the added benefit of establishing voting as a behavioural trait amongst young people.
“Studies have shown that if young people vote once, they are far more likely to vote in future elections.”
The campaign follows a similar strategy to one employed prior to the last federal election–a campaign Marshall said was very successful.
“In the last (federal) election, B.C. had the second highest youth turnout in Canada. 623.9 per cent of people 18 to 24 voted in that election. I actually credit a lot of organizations , ours included, in making that happen,” said Marshall.
In another initiative, even younger students in BC are being engaged in the election process.
Student Vote, a program of the non-partisan Elections BC Office of the Legislature, is designed to teach students, as young as nine years-of-age, about the democratic election process. Teachers register their classes in the program on the Student Vote website and are sent a kit to get them started. There is no charge for the program.
On the day before the general voting day, schools host a Student Vote Day, during which students take on the roles of voting officials and organize a parallel vote using the materials provided. Students have the opportunity to cast their ballot for a local candidate on their electoral district.
The program also encourages teachers to lead up to voting day with some instruction (non-partisan, of course) about party platforms and local candidates.
The idea is to foster some dialogue between students and even between those students and their families.
“We feel its important that young people learn about our voting system and gain some understanding of the issues and where each party falls on each of the issues. In that way, when they are old enough to actually vote in our elections, we have a far more informed and prepared electorate,” said research and communications manager for CIVIX, Dan Allan.
CIVIX is a non-profit organization that runs the Student Vote Program in partnership with Elections BC.
In total, 16 schools on the Saanich Peninsula, representing about 4,500 students are participating in the program and Allan stressed teachers still have the opportunity to get involved by going to the website at student vote.ca.
“This will be the ninth time students will have been able to participate in the program since 2004 and I can tell you the program is very popular and has generated some very positive feedback,” said Allan.