This is how to improve your sex life, Squamish!
OK, that was click bait.
This is actually about changing the laws around voting.
We know that isn’t the most exciting or sexy topic, but it is essential stuff.
In a recent report, chief electoral officer Keith Archer recommended legislative voting changes.
[Fun fact: These recommendations were put to an advisory committee made up of representatives of each political party that included Squamish’s own Chris Pettingill representing the Green Party.]
In the “Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on Recommendations for Legislative Change” — which is an interesting read, honestly — Archer recommends four changes.
These are necessary advances that will help increase voter participation.
Archer recommends pre-registration for youth starting at 16 years old. This does not mean youth will vote at that age; it means they can register.
Voters between 18 to 24 years of age, currently have the lowest registration rates.
“There is a positive correlation between being registered to vote before General Voting Day and voting,” Archer notes.
In school, students have shown they can be engaged in the voting process. In the provincial election in 2017, approximately 2,500 students in the Sea to Sky riding cast ballots in mock elections.
Once students graduate high school it is harder for Elections BC to track them and, it seems, for the youth to engage in the political process.
Registering them early would fix that and perhaps engage them in the political process for life.
The second recommendation is for Elections BC to have access to voters’ names, addresses, and dates of birth that are held by public bodies. The information would only be used for voting purposes.
More sensitive private information is available on most people’s social media profiles, so this seems a no-brainer.
Archer also recommends modernizing voting with several changes including counting absentee ballots on election night, rather than 13 days after General Voting Day, during the final count, as is the current legislation. This would help those of us who are election junkies from eating through bottles of antacids waiting to see what the absentee ballot count does to the final election tally. See, important changes.
Where Archer is rather conservative, is in not recommending a quick move to allowing some form of internet voting. Granted, there are challenges to overcome, but clearly, this is where society is headed so perhaps a more aggressive approach is required.
Archer also recommends that for “snap” elections, campaigns last 32 to 38 days rather than the current 29.
This would give more time for Elections BC to get organized, which could save money.
Extra recommendations include allowing inmates to use the place of arrest or trial as their home address.
Currently, inmates who were homeless prior to incarceration face barriers to participation.
The change would put the province in line with the federal government’s rules for national elections.
Hopefully, all these recommendations will be taken to heart by our legislators.
