Millions of votes are registered for entertainment shows such as Canadian Idol, American Idol and The X Factor. The majority of those voters are young North Americans between the ages of 18 and 24.                
If only our elections could get that kind of enthusiastic turnout.

According to a 2011 Statistics Canada survey, less than 40 per cent of eligible voters in the same age bracket showed up to choose the next government.
There are many reasons young people didn’t make it to the polls. The most common reason is disinterest (30 per cent). Another 23 per cent were too busy, while 11 per cent were out of town. The results were closely similar within the next age category of 25 to 34. So why is this generation of future leaders so apathetic?
Angela Fretts, Lethbridge College Students’ Association (LCSA) services co-ordinator, believes the secret to greater student turnout is that parents need to get their children involved, not necessarily in politics, but inform them of the importance of voting. She says if it doesn’t start at home and they are not encouraged to participate in the voting process, then they won’t take the initiative on their own to learn.
Fretts notes there isn’t a lot of campaign material and they no longer have voting stations on campus, but she can’t recall the reason why. She thinks it has something to do with not enough eligible students.
In Canada, people take a lot of things for granted. Fretts recalls one international student who was overjoyed she got to vote in the student elections, as it was her first time ever. In her home country she is not allowed. In the LCSA Student Elections, no matter how much campaigning is done, the voter turnout still remains low at around five per cent of the student body.
Lethbridge College student Shyniaya Van Schothorst says she doesn’t think she will vote in the upcoming municipal election.
“I don’t feel informed enough, because I haven’t been paying attention to all the things going on and I don’t want to make an uninformed decision.”
Her opinion echoes countless other students who would rather not vote than take the time to learn about the candidates.
Voting is one privilege many of us take for granted. If we want to retain a true democracy and have our issues represented, then we need to make a conscious effort to become informed and vote for the worthy candidate.
When Lethbridge citizens hit the election polls on Oct. 21, the hope is that a greater percentage of the population will make their choice known. Over the last 12 years there has been a steady decline in the number of eligible voters showing up at the polls. In 2010, turnout was only 35 per cent.
Devon Hargreaves, vice-president of student life, believes the secret to getting more young people to vote is to look at issues that directly affect them, such as housing costs, transit, parking availability and anything that affects students’ everyday lives.
“We need to see more candidates running so we can have more competition and the best people can get elected for the job,” says Hargreaves.
Hargreaves intends on voting in the municipal election. “I’d like to see more change. We have a huge slate of candidates for council and we have a competitive race for mayor this year. We don’t have an incumbent. Fresh blood and good luck to everyone and we’ll see what it does for Lethbridge.”
When it comes time to make a decision for who you are going to vote for, will you be informed? Do you know where to cast your ballot and did you know there are advance polls? Our Endeavour Election special issue on pages 10 and 11 will answer these questions and hopefully give insight into the issues important to you the voters.
It is your voice; make yourself heard.