There's an election in Halifax, but many people just don't care
Nina Corfu | CBC News | Posted: October 11, 2016 10:45 AM | Last Updated: October 15, 2016
Municipal politics 'doesn't affect me', eligible voter says, about why he won't cast a ballot
Dwindling voter interest in recent Halifax municipal elections has prompted a campaign by the city aimed at improving turnout, but it's an open question whether any of it will actually convince many more residents to cast a ballot.
Odds are most won't bother with the upcoming Oct. 15 election, given 63 per cent of eligible voters did not vote during the last Halifax municipal election in 2012.
In 2015, city staff conducted an online survey of citizens and hosted three public forums at the Halifax Central Library. Topics included how to engage new voters, accessibility at the polls, voting methods, and the role of citizens in the electoral process.
Municipal spokesman Adam Richardson said feedback from those projects encouraged city staff to really have a conversation with voters around election time.
"Not just the municipality telling people when to vote and the dates," he said, "but why are people out there voting?"
More visible
City staff are working to be more visible on social media this year, Richardson said, including Facebook posts and a contest on Twitter that encourages citizens to explain why they vote using the hashtag #HalifaxVotesBecause.
He said the city is staffing information booths at community events and advertising on buses, billboards and on television.
Richardson said the city is also trying to provide voters with lots of opportunities to cast a ballot, including advanced polling days where people can vote electronically, by telephone and in person.
'Out of the loop'
Clancy McInnis, a 28-year-old student originally from Yukon, said the municipal election isn't on his radar.
"I didn't even know it was going on. I have no idea who the candidates are, or what their policies are," he said. "I'm totally out of the loop."
McInnis said he hadn't noticed the city's advertising campaign. "That stuff, it's in our face all the time and I just tune everything out. If I don't have to read a sign, I'm not going to."
Pamphlets don't cut it
Serenity Nicholson, a 23-year-old mother of two, said she's aware of the municipal election, but doesn't plan to vote because she doesn't think she knows enough about the issues.
She said candidates need to do more to reach out to prospective voters, and pamphlets on the doorstep don't cut it.
"I see the things stuck in the ground and vote for this person, this person is running," Nicholson said. "Well, who is that person and what does that person have to offer?"
'Give me a reason to vote'
"I want somebody to reach out and give me a reason" to vote, said 22-year-old Ashley Doyle.
Politicians like to make promises, she said, but "99 per cent of the time they're going to get in office, and there are going to be changes and budget cuts, and it's not going to happen."
Doyle said Halifax is "falling apart," but she doesn't trust the councillors or the mayor to fix the problems.
'Doesn't affect me'
John James Campbell, 34, said he has only ever voted federally, and he doesn't plan to vote in the municipal election this time either. "I really couldn't see getting out and going to vote."
"I really don't think municipal elections matter all that much, in my opinion," he said. "Civic rules and regulations really don't — you know, day-to-day life — really doesn't affect me all that much."
Campbell said there's much more to be passionate about at the federal level.
Unaware of e-voting
Salma Ghanem, 24, said she wasn't planning on voting, because she's supposed to be on vacation on election day.
She hadn't heard that electronic voting was an option. Ghanem said if she decides to try electronic voting, she would be the only one in her group of friends to cast a ballot.
"The people that I mix with aren't really interested. Especially my generation," she said. "I don't think they see that it will make much of a difference."