Citizen Participation: Voter Turnout

Archived Topic Box from the 2004 Fourth Annual Benchmark Report

British Columbians, like citizens in other jurisdictions, participate in a variety of activities outside of their regular work and home-lives which help shape our society. Statistics Canada tracks citizen participation in three areas: 'Charitable Giving', which refers to donations of money, food, clothing and other resources to charities and similar organizations; 'Volunteering', which captures the amount of personal time and skills that British Columbians donate to these same organization; and, 'Civic Participation' measures citizens' involvement in groups, associations and the political process. The December 2003 Third Annual Benchmarking report of the BC Progress Board provided an overview based on these three areas, noting that British Columbia lags behind most other Canadian provinces on measures of both Charitable Giving and Volunteerism, but is above average on measures of Civic Participation.

While the Board awaits new results for these three key areas of citizen participation (expected in time for next year's report), this year we focus on BC's relative track-record on Voter Turnout – the number of the citizens who cast ballots in provincial and federal general elections. Voter turnouts have dropped by roughly 10% over the past decade in most nations, marking an unprecedented change in civic involvement levels. To get a sense of how BC measures up within a Canadian context, the table below looks at BC relative to other provinces.

Looking at the 20-year voter turnout trend in Federal elections, Canadians have registered a steady decline in participation from 75.3% in 1984 to 60.5% in the 2004 general election. There is a similar – though less precipitous – decline in voter turnout in BC provincial general elections. Here, BC registered a voter turnout of 77.5% in 1983, declining to 71% the 2001 provincial general election. In the most recent snapshot of voter turnout – the 2004 federal general election – BC, with a turnout rate of 63.6%, performed better than the national turnout rate of 60.5% and slightly above Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

While the consensus is clear that falling involvement poses a threat to the legitimacy of our governments and communities – that is, leaving important societal decisions in the hands of fewer people – the reasons for increasing voter apathy and the remedies for it are far less obvious. Generally a voter's decision to cast a ballot is influenced by a number of variables including interest in politics, the perception of having a 'real' choice between candidates or platforms, the level of competition (or the closeness of the 'race'), and individual perceptions of civic duty.

Two additional factors have an impact on the likelihood that an individual will vote: education and age. Voter turnout increases with education levels, with the university-educated population generally feeling more informed about, and interested in, the political process. Similarly the likelihood an individual will vote increases with age. While the age variable has always been significant, it has increased considerably over the last decade, with voter turnouts falling dramatically among the youth population (both in BC and elsewhere) resulting in the single most important source of turnout decline. In the 2004 federal election only 25% of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 cast ballots. Reasons for declining turnouts among the youth population are numerous and include factors as diverse as increased mobility, busy schedules, lack of interest or knowledge, and a feeling of not being represented by, or connected to, the political process. While studies show that many of these factors also affect older adults' likelihood to vote, the main difference is accounted for in the reported level of perceived 'civic duty' to vote. While older generations report a feeling of guilt when not casting a ballot, the sense that voting is a responsibility – and not simply a right – is less apparent among younger voters.

Though British Columbia performs slightly better the national average and other large provinces, addressing problems of apathy and disinterest in the electoral process are an important – though often overlooked – part of maintaining a healthy, successful, legitimate and prosperous society and economy.

Source: Andre Blais' speech to the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.