Canadians discuss right to decline a vote
Ontarians question whether declining one’s vote in the provincial election would bring change.
A Canadian political activist has launched “Decline My Vote“, a campaign to educate people to register their dissatisfaction at the polls. This comes as Ontarians prepare to cast their votes in Thursday’s provincial general election. Paul Synnott says he’s trying to raise awareness about Section 53 of the Ontario Election Act, which allows voters to “decline” their ballot. He believes the option appeals to a younger demographic that tends to vote the least. Canadians took to Reddit and Twitter using #DeclineYourVote to debate the issue.
Ontario’s last election in 2011 had a record low turnout with only 49.2 per cent of eligible voters going to the ballot booths. Fewer people have voted in the advance polls this year than three years ago. An Ipsos Reid/CTV poll showed four per cent of voters would not vote for any of the three major parties: Liberals, Progressive Conservatives (Tories) and the New Democrats.