It’s a common perception that Canadians love to trash talk Toronto, and most outside the city borders couldn’t care less about who wins the mayoral by-election on June 26. But if Canadian cities are to find a path to economic recovery in this global world, cities should care a lot about who becomes the next mayor of Toronto.
There should be a tax credit if you vote. Too many people dismiss the importance of local elections.
What if people cast blank or spoiled ballots simply to be eligible for the tax credit? It may boost the turnout, but I don’t see how it can help ensure that citizens vote for the right reasons and make informed decisions.
A spoiled ballot is a valid vote. It represents that there’s a section of the population that doesn’t feel represented by the current candidates.
You can probably use metrics from countries that have mandatory voting with negative punishments, like Australia. They have a spoiled ballot rate of around 5%. Personally I’m fine with that. Making systems opt-in when modern life is so complicated and busy just rewards apathy and disengagement.
If you don’t want your organs donated you should have to say that you don’t on your own time, and if you think voting is stupid then you should go and spoil your ballot.
Sometimes showing up is half the battle. But a blank or spoiled ballot is still a form of a vote, a protest vote but still a vote.
I have no idea how make voters more informed however. Maybe they’ll start paying more attention now that everything is going to shit? Outrage is a good motivator.