I'm against it. I don't think bringing in online voting will fix the voter apathy, and the extremely low voter turnout we've been experiencing lately. I realize that's a pretty backward reaction; it is the 21st century and technology was invented to make lives easier it's only natural that it should be extended to the democratic process.
The reason people aren't engaged has more to do with politicians themselves I think. Out of all elected representatives right now here in Milton at all levels of government I can think of maybe five possibly seven people who I consider to really be engaged with the voters... out at events clearly present and accounted for. These are people who will take time to listen, and take note of my concerns as a constituent.
Politicians.. mostly at upper levels tend to go in for the easier soundbite. As a member of the press that's great- it gives us something to talk about; it feeds the 24 hour news cycle. And often we are the ones who see the context behind the quote; or the full story instead of just the spin. The problem is as a voter, personally I like to see it all; the whole package- the policy as well as the pretty face speaking about it. It all should matter.
Integrity ranks high on the list of qualities I look for in a politician. I haven't been seeing too much of it around these days. Politicians have gained a reputation for lying and scandal- Dalton McGuinty constantly promising no new taxes and yet he keeps introducing them. The various cabinet ministers in the Harper government who are either involved, or have been involved in scandals. Locally we have a well-documented, much commented upon case of Tony Lambert and the charges he has faced.
I grant some are expected- it is impossible for an opposition party to know exactly what they face if they're elected to govern. And in McGuinty's case it is in some measure at least his fault for making that particular promise several times and know that in likelihood he's going to end up doing it anyway. But still every once in a while it wouldn't hurt to keep at least one every so often just to surprise us. If people saw some integrity; a little bit more we're doing what we said we were going to, then maybe they'd sit up and pay attention for a while. Right now taking the McGuinty example again, it's too easy to look at him and say he breaks all the promises so why should I trust him?
Voting is part of the Canadian experience. I've worked as a Registration Officer at a federal election, and I remember it was late in the day when one couple comes up to register. Election officials aren't allowed to ask for proof of citizenship, which, was why I was surprised when in addition to the regular ID, one of them showed me their citizenship card. It's important to remember that feeling of pride; that to use the old and melodramatic argument that people fight for the right to vote, people die for it. I don't think it's too much to ask us to take 20 minutes out of our day once every 4 years to go down to our local school/community centre/church and vote.
Democracy is messy. Should we clean it up with technology? In spots there definitely are places it could be used to make it easier. But it shouldn't be the be all, and end all for the voting process. The lack of engagement is more due to politicians themselves I think than the people. If they kept their promises every so often, and told the truth then maybe we wouldn't be in such a tough spot in terms of turnout.
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