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Promote the vote

THUNDER BAY -- The city clerk’s office is targeting youth in this year’s municipal election.
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City Clerk John Hannam says targeting youth could help increase voter turnout next month. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- The city clerk’s office is targeting youth in this year’s municipal election.

It’s one sure way to increase the number of people who head to the polls, says city clerk John Hannam, who saw voter turnout jump to about 47 per cent in 2010.

But that’s still about four percentage points below the Thunder Bay average.

Hannam is hoping taking the message to social media, a higher profile at both Lakehead University and Confederation College, a slight increase in advance polling location and continued use of the mobile voting van will combine to drive up numbers in this year’s election.

“We’re not unusual,” Hannam said Monday, as the city began its voter campaign push, about three weeks ahead of advance polls opening on Oct. 14.

“It’s a common phenomenon that younger voters tend not to participate.”

In fact, on average about 23 per cent to 25 per cent of voters younger than 40 exercise their right to vote in municipal elections.

“But we’re going to try to make a dent in that by appealing to younger voters in terms of the style of the marketing campaign and the presence that we’re going to have at places like LU and Confederation College,” Hannam said.

“We’re partnering with the students unions there, LUSU and SUCCI, and also partnering with SHIFT, the young professional network, to help reach out into that demographic to encourage people to vote in the upcoming election.”

Hannam added that the earlier people begin to vote, the more likely they are to continue doing so throughout their lives.

It also helps get them more active and involved in issues in the community.

“They have as much a stake as to what goes on in municipal government as anyone does that lives in the city,” Hannam said.

The vote is slated for Oct. 27, but advance polls will allow several opportunities for people to cast a ballot.

Early voting takes place Oct. 14 and Oct. 15 at West Thunder Community Centre and Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 at the Thunder Bay 55 Plus Centre. The voting van will also be at numerous locations around the city from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18, when it will be stationed all day in the Intercity Shopping Centre parking lot.

Hannam said voters should take this week to ensure they’re on the voter’s list at tbayvotes.com, and if not, ensure they have their name on the list, which can also be done online.

The city will also be hosting a number of revision days for registered voters who have information that needs to be changed or corrected.

The clerk’s office will have a booth at Intercity Shopping Centre from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2. Revisions can also be made next week at a number of locations around town. Dates and times can be found online. Eligible voters can also vote by proxy, with an elector representing them at the ballot box. A relative of a registered candidate may not cast a proxy vote.

Anyone who lives in Thunder Bay, regardless of how long, is eligible to vote, as long as they’re a Canadian citizen and 18 or older. This includes out-of-town students, although unless they own property in another municipality, they can only vote in one location.

The city will be offering free public transit to registered voters to and from the polls on Oct. 27. They’re also holding a Make the Pledge campaign, with five weekly prizes of a $100 gift certificate to voters who sign up on Facebook and promise to vote.


 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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