Hello everybody! Today I'm going to reflect and give my thoughts on something that both confuses and troubles me, as I dissect the voter turnout for last week's municipal election for the Town of Bonnyville.
As I'm sitting writing this column at 8 a.m. Monday morning, we are exactly one week removed from all the hustle and bustle of the recent municipal election – an election that brought about the change of leadership that he majority of voters in this town desired. But, and this is the most important part, this election saw local residents turn out in record low numbers to decide who should represent them over the next four years.
Now, speaking as somebody who tried to participate in the election but was ineligible (as a person on a post-graduate work permit), I just can't wrap my head around the fact that so few people chose not to take the short time and effort to practice their diplomatic right. If we are to believe the current ‘unofficial' numbers, there were 1,005 votes cost in the mayoral race, which, having taken into account the most recent census for the town of Bonnyville, meant the town was left to reflect on a pretty dismal 19 per cent voter turnout. Our new Mayor Gene Sobolewski will be sworn in later today after collecting 499 votes.
After seeing those numbers, I thought to myself ‘wow, what was so bad about this election, the candidates and all the build up that led to such a poor turnout?' because surely something had to have been wrong to illicit what is looking like a record-low election turnout.
Upon careful consideration, I've decided it can't have been because of those running in the mayoral race, as the town had three very different candidates to choose from. The apparent low interest can't have come as a result of a lack of coverage either, with many a page in the Nouvelle and several segments on the local radio stations, as well as information online dedicated to the election in the weeks leading up to voting day. So at the end of the day, the ball stops at the foot of all those in Bonnyville who quite frankly couldn't be bothered to get out to the Senior's Drop-In Centre and tick a few boxes.
When you consider the fact that hundreds of thousands of Canadians have fought and died in battle at some point over the past 100 years so that people today have the right to vote and make their own choices, it's pathetic. In my opinion it's a huge slap in the face to the veterans and those lost when you see so many people simply apathetic to the fact there is an election.
I guess now a few thousand people in town will have to go through the next four years without so much as a complaint - after all, as the Bonnyville election forum's MC Vic Sadlowski said, if you choose not to participate in the vote to decide your local leaders, you're choosing not to have a voice. For somebody on the outside looking in, I can't even begin to fathom why.
