More people will probably vote in the municipal election Monday than in past years because there are three credible candidates running for mayor, according to a Laurentian University political science professor.
“When there is a less of a controversial race, people tend to say 'What difference can I make?',” says Richard Theoret, an expert in federal, provincial and municipal politics.
“But when there's a good race like this time, my personal feeling is that the voter turnout will go up next week.”
In the municipal election in 2003, 42 percent of the adult population in Greater Sudbury voted.
Theoret thinks the participation rate might go up another five percent this time. The same thing is happening in Ottawa, where there are also three strong contenders for the mayor's job, he says.
The advanced polls bode well for a strong voter turnout Nov. 13.
After three days of advanced voting on Oct. 28-30, 6,752 people came out to cast their ballot. In the 2003 municipal election, only 4,067 people made their mark in six days of advanced voting.
But even if the voter turnout goes up, the professor says he has “a problem as a democrat that people are not using their right to vote.”
We need to find innovative ways to get people to participate in the election, Theoret says.
He likes the idea of advanced voting because it gives people a longer period of time to cast their ballots.
Many rural municipalities in Ontario have also been using mail-in ballots in recent years to great success, he says.
Sturgeon Falls used mail-in ballots in the last election, and 70 percent of the population voted, says Theoret. Internet voting is also being used in many areas, he says.
Traditionally, municipal politicians have a hard time getting people interested in voting because there is no party structure.
“If I'm a lifelong Liberal, I would want to make sure my candidate gets in. But if I'm just a regular taxpayer, because municipal politics has no parties, I might not follow through on my intention to vote,” he says.
“It also makes it harder to fundraise because they're not part of a party, and you can't go through the list.”
Municipal politicians are also less powerful than their provincial and federal counterparts, and people tend to care less what they do, says Theoret.
“We know that whatever the council decides, it may be overturned by the provincial government. That's certainly one factor. People say 'It doesn't matter who is there',”
“For example, with amalgamation, it was imposed by Queen's Park. It wasn't a local decision.”