Voters need to be selective at the ballot box
By Letter to the Editor on October 9, 2021.
Editor:
Our civic election is less than two weeks away. You may have forgotten that if you’re not that interested in local politics.
But if you are interested in how many people can live beside you or where parks are placed or how much you’re charged in property taxes or whether the roads are maintained or how the drug crisis is dealt with or how crime is curtailed in the city or if businesses are encouraged to become established or if there are jobs available in the City, then you have a vested interested in the outcome of the election of the mayor and councillors on Oct. 18.
Civic elections are notorious for poor voter turn-outs. We’ve had five municipal elections since the turn of this century.
The best voter turn-out was in 2001 when 45 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots. But in 2007, less than one in four eligible voters turned out to vote.
It usually runs around 33 per cent of the electorate who actually vote in civic elections.
In the last election, 27 per cent voted – which means that if you go out and vote, your vote is worth almost four times what it would be if everyone went and cast a ballot. And your one vote is infinitely more powerful than that of a neighbour who hasn’t voted.
But voting is even more important if you know how to vote.
You are allowed to vote for a maximum of eight and only eight candidates for a councillor’s position.
If you vote for more, then your vote is spoiled: it’s as worthless as someone who hasn’t voted at all.
Not only that, and this is extremely important, if you would want to see only one or two or three persons elected, it is fundamentally wrong to vote for more.
The more persons you vote for over and above the ones you truly wish to see elected, the slimmer the chances of electing the ones you really want on council. That’s a mathematical certainty. So, if you love only one or two or three or four or five or six or seven, then don’t vote for eight.
If you’d love to see one person in particular on council then only vote for that person, not more. More will be elected, but each time you vote for more than the ones you wish to see serve on council the less likely they will be elected.
And don’t vote for just a name you recognize or the first name you see on a ballot.
Actually do research and see if there is someone whose ideas reflect your own. If there’s one or more who thinks like you do then you may wish to vote for her or him. But if their interests are not your interests then do not vote for that person or persons. It doesn’t matter how rich or educated or experienced that person, if they don’t believe in the things you do then do not vote for him. It’s as simple as that.
The City website allows you to view videos of the various mayoralty and council candidates. Check them out; they’re only two minutes long each. https://www.lethbridge.ca/City-Government/Elections/Pages/default.aspx
Vote but vote wisely.
Ken Moore
Lethbridge
-1
Thanks for taking the time to write this,Mr. Moore.
Also, I hope people vote based on the issues ,not the sex of the candidate.