Pledge to vote, have a beer on us: U of R Students' Union

When compared with historical trends of voter turnout among young people, University of Regina student Kelsey Briens is a bit of an anomaly: she's been wanting to vote since before she was even eligible. 

"When I got my registration information in the mail, I started jumping up and down, screaming 'this is better than Christmas.' I've been wanting to vote since I was about eight," said the now-18-year-old. 

This federal election will be her first time voting. 

She even convinced her friend, Thong Ta, to vote.

"I've been dragging all of my friends to get registered to vote, because I think it's really important for everyone to vote," Briens said.

But in the last federal election in 2011, less than 40 per cent of people under 25 cast a ballot. Overall voter turnout was 61 per cent of the Canadian population.

The numbers would indicate that not everyone Briens' age is as excited as she is to exercise their democratic right.

The students' union at the university is looking to change that, with some beer. As part of its Get Out the Vote campaign, the union is promising students a free beer if they sign up for a vote reminder text message. 

"We're here to try and turn a corner," said Devon Peters, students' union president. "Student voter participation has been declining for much longer than I've been alive and it's really important, we think, that students get out and vote this time." 

On election night, students will head to the campus pub, show their reminder text message and start guzzling their suds.

The push to get students out to vote also has local candidates looking to capitalize on their engagement.

"We want to engage with young people and share with them Justin Trudeau's vision for the country and the future and we think they'll be pretty excited about that," said Liberal candidate Louis Browne, who's running in the newly created Regina-Lewvan riding. 

Conservative Party candidate Michael Kram is looking to meet some new faces too, and encourage them to vote for his party.

"Just meet with as many students as I can, and hear what's on their minds," Kram said. "And hopefully that means they'll be more likely to mark an x by my name on election day."

Kram is running in Regina-Wascana.

Other Regina candidates were also on campus on Friday, including the NDP's Erin Weir and Liberal Ralph Goodale.