Want an election fever
The whole process of choosing those who will represent us is one that fascinates me. If we aren’t in an election campaign, somewhere, we’re wishing we were. The warnings that two concurrent sets of “educating the people” will leave them confused is warning enough.
I spent time this week in the presence of a government “think tank” that is examining how voter turnouts can be increased. One figure that bears examination has to do with the cost of the advertising campaign for the campaign. Not the “educating the people” campaign but the “tell people they really should vote” campaign. I’m in pain.
For example, in Quebec, a provincial contest draws about 70 percent of the population to the urns (when was the last time an urn was actually used?). A municipal run-off draws about 45 percent of the population out. A school board “choose the best of the unknown people herein identified” draws a meagre 5 percent. Respectively, these little public displays of affection cost 70 million, 45 million and 5 million, in letting us know we have the right to go and use a dull crayon (or a suspect electronic device) for one minute each. Good work if you can get it.
The real fear is that if we spend more money, we’ll just get more people out to vote, thereby breaking the process. We’ll still be left with election fever, but the headache won’t go away.
