It is disturbing that voter turnout continues
to decline for municipal, provincial and federal elections. I
am referring to Jason Thompson's article in last Wednesday's
Northern Life.
In my opinion, lowering the voting age to 16
would be wrong. This is not because teens are unwise, uncaring
or intellectually challenged. These young people have enough
stress and pressure to deal with already. They are adjusting to
change from kids to adults.
Furthermore, when our young teens see the
immature way many of our elected officials conduct themselves,
I wonder why anyone votes.
Mandatory voting or imposing fines are
absolutely ludicrous ideas.
I do not intend to paint all politicians with
the same brush because there are many good upstanding people
serving our country. But, politicians need to
say what they mean; mean what they say; make
promises they can keep; and campaign on what they believe in,
not on what they believe will get them elected. Once elected,
they should stand up for the constituents who elected them
instead of the party line. I'm betting that will improve voter
turnout on
election day.
Bruce Parr
Sudbury