Voter Turnout Is All Relative in B. C. Politics

I find it somewhat amusing to read the recent musings from the media (and others) about the historically low voter turnout in the recent federal election here in Canada. It has been reported that the 59% number was the lowest since Confederation and, while the fact that there was really no reason to have called this election (as a matter of fact, it broke the 'New' Conservatives own fixed election dates legislation) since Prime Minister Harper admitted several times that it was likely that he would have another minority government (which is precisely what happened) may have kept some people at home, some perspective on this number might be helpful.
In the last provincial election in May 2005, the voter turnout was 58%, which is quite comparable to the recent federal election figure, even though that was the lowest ever.
So far, the pundits and assorted other politicians are suggesting that it might be due to a certain amount of cynicism on the part of voters (gee, you think?!). However, a look at the most recent voter turnouts in municipal elections makes the federal result look downright stellar by comparison.
In the British Columbia, province-wide, municipal elections in 2005, the governments which probably have the most impact on the average citizen's day-to-day existence, we saw the following sampling of voter turnouts: Burnaby -25.5%, Central Saanich -28%, Colwood -24.8%, Coquitlam -23.3%, Courtenay -25.0%, Delta -34.8%, Esquimalt -32.5%, Fort St. John -26.0%, Kelowna -31.5%, Ladysmith -23.3%, Langford -21.3%, Langley -19.7%, Maple Ridge -30.9%, Nanaimo -35%, New Westminster -26.2%, Oak Bay -28.7%, Pitt Meadows -27.0%, Port Alberni -28.1%, Port Coquitlam -19.4%, Port Moody -17.5%, Richmond -25.9%, Saanich -19.1%, Sidney -9%, Surrey -35.4%, Vancouver -32.5%, Victoria -26.4%. So, you see, it could have been far worse. [UPDATE: in 2008, in my own community of Lantzville, voter turnout sank to an abysmal 21.6%! It's bad enough that our local Council ended up being elected by something like 15% of the registered voters but, if you don't make the effort to vote for Council, you won't be voting for school board members either and they manage the education of our children and have a budget of ~$110 million!

Why this large discrepancy between the federal and local government elections one can only speculate. My own opinion is that it has a lot to do with voter 'laziness' - in the federal and provincial campaigns, we have the party leaders splashing their faces everywhere there is a flat surface so, we can get everything we feel we need to know in a few quick 'sound/video bytes'. We can then translate that party information to our local candidate and, ta-dah, problem solved! Municipal elections, where few of the candidates actually run on party platforms and the budgets are much more modest so there is very little radio and television advertising, really make us have to work to try and figure out who would best represent our concerns on local Council/School Boards.
Another factor may be that, again because of the 'party system', in federal and provincial elections we would typically be choosing one candidate from a list of maybe 4 - 7, while in municipal elections we usually have to select 6 - 8 people out of a list that may contain 20 or more names (and that doesn't even count the School Board elections). This then becomes too much like work so we find it easier to go and have a beer! What this all demonstrates to me is that, although we want to enjoy all the benefits of a democracy, most of us are not willing to invest more than a few minutes (no, as the numbers above clearly demonstrate, most of us are not willing to devote even that!) in selecting those that will represent us for the next three or more years. By and large, we want to be able to 'bitch and moan' when our local government does something that we don't agree with but, clearly, most of us haven't earned that right!

Canadian Politician Appraisal Aid

The courts, in their infinite wisdom, have held that the only recourse a voter has to the performance (or lack thereof) of an elected official is at the polls. Nevermind how difficult that is made by the politicians and their respective sycophant media. Politicians count on this and it is a large part of the reason why they can get away with what they do, over and over again.
My suggestion, which is far from perfect but much better than trying to do an 'instant evaluation' on election day, is this. The day after election day, take two blank pieces of paper and put the heading 'MP/MLA/Councillor' on one and 'Government' on the other. Now divide each page up into two columns, labelling the first column, 'Things I Support' and, the other, 'Things I Don't Support'. Every time your MLA/MP/Councillor or Government does something noteworthy, make an entry in the appropriate column. Now, before you cast your next vote, look at your list. If your MLA/MP/Councillor or Government isn't cutting it, I strongly suggest you look for a credible alternative.