My father is not political. I don’t even think he can name all of the political parties, let alone their leaders. But he does vote. He votes for one reason. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain when politicians mess up.
This is by no mean elegant logic. However, the point is even this man, with no interest in politics, feels that it is important to vote.
When I look at people my age who do not vote, all I can think of is the missed opportunity. People under the age of 30 are a huge voting bloc, but they are the least likely to vote. Why is that?
According to Elections Canada, in the 2011 election only 38.8 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 24 voted. The 25 to 34 demographic was not much better, with only 45.1 per cent voting. That’s unacceptable. When you consider how easy it is to vote, and how long you have to vote, it makes us look lazy.
I know being a student is tiring, and many of you are busy. But are you really too busy to march down to the sub and mark an x?
Some students say they don’t vote because politicians don’t cater to them. The logic here is faulty. The reasons politicians don’t listen to us is because we don’t vote.
Take senior citizens for instance. By and large they always vote. Elections Canada says that 75.1 per cent of Canadians aged 65 to 74 vote. Also by and large they are always on politicians minds. Politicians know they cross these citizens at their own peril. Students on the other hand are expendable, after all we don’t vote.
If I may channel my inner Kanye West, “Politician’s don’t care about students.” We have never made them care about us. The senior vote has ensured that their options will be heard, and their policies implemented. Seniors are given a prominent seat at the table, we’re not even allowed in the dining hall.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can become a major pain in the ass for any candidate who wins this riding. All that is needed is for us to take time, and vote.
There are advanced polls at the UNB SUB from Oct. 5 to the 8, take advantage of that, or vote on election day. Also, make sure you have id that shows your current address, even a utility bill will work. It doesn’t matter how you vote, only that you do.
Besides, if the vote doesn’t go your way, at least you can complain.
