With the election over and the candidates sworn in, our new council is set to begin fulfilling its mandate set by the Cochrane electorate.
While those who went to the polls should be commended for taking the time to help chart our town’s course for the next four years, we must take a moment to chastise those who chose to sit the election out.
The voter turnout of a mere 38 per cent is not only abysmal, it’s a surprising display of voter apathy considering the level of interest there appeared to be in the election.
Aside from the incessant threads from social media keyboard warriors screaming about the need for change, each of the four candidate forums held throughout the campaign attracted hundreds of people – most were standing room only and had to turn people away.
Though the results were reflective of what was being seen on social media and the results of a wholly non-scientific poll posted on cochraneeagle.com, we can’t help but wonder if our new council is truly representative of the community.
Considering that municipal council’s have such a direct influence on people’s lives – from the amount they pay to live in their homes, to the quality of the streets they drive on – it is hard to understand why voter turnout is notoriously low.
In that respect, Cochrane is in good – or perhaps bad – company. Okotoks, which has a similar population, had only 29 per cent voter turnout while the City of Edmonton barely broke 30 per cent. Calgary, where there was a lot of interest in the election, especially considering the arena issue, barely broke the 50 per cent mark.
So why?
Here in Cochrane there is little excuse. The town put in extra effort to try and get people to polls. Not only did it setup three extra advance polls this year, one was at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre on a Saturday.
Hundreds upon hundreds of people go through the sports centre on a Saturday – it would have not taken much to step into the voting line.
Is it the fact that many people commute to Calgary every day and do not feel a connection to Cochrane? Or is it the way we vote?
Is it time for municipalities to incorporate different technologies for voters – such as online ballots. Have we become such a frenetic society that standing in line to vote is something people are no longer willing to do?
We must wonder if those sitting around the council table would have been the same if more people had voted.
The effectiveness of democracy relies on public being engaged and it is disappointing people seem to put more weight in a 140 character tweet, or a tirade on Facebook than casting a ballot.
The electorate must do better.
