Suck it up — and vote
A ballot not cast is like voting for the winner
Marlo Campbell

It’s official — Canada’s government has fallen and on Jan. 23 we’ll be electing a new one. The mainstream media have been wringing their hands over the possibility of a Christmas campaign for weeks. Finally we get to see what all the fuss was about.

Game on!

I discovered how exciting politics could be during the 2004 campaign.

That election night I found myself screaming at my TV, rooting for my favourite candidates (OK, some I had never heard of before, but you make your picks and you go with them...). I was fascinated by the interesting and informative back stories, riveted by the drama of the close races (Up by 20! Down by 12!). My heart raced. Suddenly I understood the popularity of organized sports. For full effect this year, I plan to make snacks and drink while watching.

According to Elections Canada’s website, only 60.9 per cent of all eligible voters participated in the 2004 election —the lowest voter turn out since 1896.

So what gives with those numbers — are we all too cool to care about politics, or are we just plain lazy?

The actual process of voting is pretty easy. From my experience, it goes something like this: you arrive at your local elementary school, get nostalgic when you see how low to the ground the water fountains are, wait in an over-heated gymnasium with your fellow voters (I like to pass the time by judging other people’s outfits), check a box on your ballot and voila — democratic process actualized.

While I’ve never timed it, I’d say the whole thing takes about 20 minutes. To say that the act of voting is too much of a hassle is a bit of a stretch — I’ve spent longer trying to decide what to eat.

So maybe it’s because we’re all too ill-informed to make an intelligent choice. But that’s a poor excuse — when has being ignorant on an issue stopped you from offering up your opinion (or is that just me)? For that matter, it’s arguable whether our elected officials have a good grasp on what Canadians want — so why should we hold ourselves to a higher standard?

If we don’t get involved in the process, we’re automatically voting for the winner. And yes, getting involved means we should actually read those political leaflets mixed in with all the Canadian Tire flyers. Volunteers may show up at our doorsteps (let’s all have some fun and tell them we’ll only vote for their candidate if they sing Jingle Bell Rock). At some point, we’ll even have to put boots on and — gasp — leave the house.

Participating in the electoral process is easy. Need a re-frame? Pretend you’re a jury member in a giant game of Survivor. When it comes down to tribal council, it’s all about the numbers. If we don’t vote, we’re letting whoever lies and cheats their way to the top walk away with all the money (hmm — in the wake of the sponsorship scandal, my Survivor analogy is even more chillingly appropriate than I had imagined...).

P. Diddy said, “vote or die.” I say suck it up and vote or else you’re not allowed to bitch and moan about the sorry state of Canada come February.