Characteristics such as socio-economic status, occupation, race and ethnicity, language, age and religious affiliation have been found to affect whether people choose to cast a ballot. By voting, we are using our experience and wisdom to maintain one of the best democratic countries in the world. Your opinion matters and your opinion counts. Check out halifaxchamber. Start your Membership Now.
Your home for the news shaping Canada's East Coast. Close Search. Subscribe now Sign in My Account Log out. Thus, the entry of cohorts of new electors who participated at particularly low rates in the last three elections has played a major role in the turnout decline during this period.
Table 14 shows that this lessening of electoral participation with subsequent age groups is not a recent phenomenon, but dates back to those who entered the electorate in the s, if not earlier.
The life-cycle effects, which work to increase the voter turnout rates of initially-lower young cohorts, have not brought the Trudeau and Mulroney cohorts up to the levels of the King, St.
Laurent, Diefenbaker and Pearson generations. If life-cycle effects continue their reduced impact on young citizens, the most likely outcome is that voting rates will continue to decline.
Another factor of potential importance is that of region. In particular, we know that turnout in the election in Ontario was only 58 percent Results of the election, Elections Canada Web site, Table 4.
Newfoundland However, a preliminary breakdown of important factors by province does not show significant differences between Ontario the area where we have sufficient cases to be confident of our results and the national results. Our second category of predictors of voting and not voting will be derived from two factor analyses, reported in tables 15 and As we have mentioned previously, factor analysis explores the correlations among all the items in a group of variables, and identifies any common underlying commonalities, or factors, which lie behind them.
The factor loadings correlations of the individual variables with the underlying factors are presented in tables 15 and 16, and factor scores will be used in the ensuing regression analyses. Table 15 reports a factor analysis of variables including political interest. Our purpose in using this technique is to observe which variables load on the same factor as political interest, so as to use a more complex factor to predict voting.
Political interest by itself raises as many questions as it answers, as we have mentioned before. We have included in the factor analysis a measure of "civic duty", namely the perceived importance of voting in elections. We also included two "political discussion" variables, one measuring socialization, that is, whether people discussed politics with their parents when they were growing up, and one measuring current frequency of discussing politics with other people.
We are also interested here in the impact of a perceived competitive situation on voter turnout, on the hypothesis that if people feel their vote will matter more they will be more likely to vote, and that if the political parties in the country, and in the respondent's riding, are seen as more competitive, the vote will also seem to matter more and turnout will be higher. All of these hypotheses are consistent with a rational-choice approach to voter turnout, which would say that people are more likely to act when it is in their personal interest to engage in that activity rather than some possible competing activity.
Three factors are produced from the group of variables described in the previous paragraph. The first groups political interest with civic duty and with discussing politics, both in the past when growing up, and at present with family and friends. We might refer to this as an " engaged citizen " factor. The second also includes the civic duty variable of considering that it is important that people vote in elections, but groups it with the two questions about whether people felt their votes would make a difference, in the country as a whole, or in their electoral districts.
These latter two variables have much higher loadings on this factor, and so we might label this a " vote matters " factor, hypothesizing that people are more prone to act in circumstances where their vote might make a difference or where it is important to the country that people take part in elections.
It can be considered to be consistent with rational-choice theories in the sense that it will be in the elector's self-interest to vote in situations where that vote would make a difference, or "count more", since that would give more value to the choice of that action as opposed to some competing action. The third factor in Table 15 groups the two variables that ask the respondent to rate how competitive they found the political parties to be in the country as a whole, and in the electoral district.
This variable is also consistent with the rational-choice approach, and we can call it a " party competitive " factor. It is interesting that this factor is distinct from factor 2, involving the questions about whether people felt their vote would matter. The fact that civic duty loads on the second factor and not on the third implies that other considerations than party competition are involved in people deciding whether their vote would matter or not.
Table 16 presents the second factor analysis. Here we have included variables measuring the concept of political efficacy, the feeling that one can understand and potentially influence the political process.
Also included are measures of trust, in politicians and the political system more generally. All federal elections will have accessibility measures in place that can help people with disabilities vote.
For example, you can vote by mail so you do not have to leave where you live. Depending on your situation, you may be able to vote at your long-term care facility, hospital, or home.
Accessibility measures are integrated into the polling station, such as wheelchair accessibility and voting screens that let in more light.
There are tools and services available upon request, such as help marking your ballot, magnifying glasses, large-grip writing instruments and sign language interpretation. Navigating the election with a disability or illness can feel overwhelming - but voting by law must be accessible. No eligible Canadians should be kept from voting. When you understand the platforms of the candidates in your riding, you can cast an informed and educated vote.
Those trends started to reverse in , and the results for were even more positive. Overall, voter turnout reached In , voter turnout for youth aged 18 to 24 increased the most of any age group: compared with , over half a million more young Canadians voted.
But, in , youth voter turnout decreased by 3. Could it signal a downward shift in the trend? Or could it be a sign that participation is stabilizing?
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