Elections BC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2009

By Gillian Angrove

VICTORIA - It’s our future-what are we waiting for?

This is the question I’ve posed to the youth of British Columbia over the past three months. As Youth Liaison Officer at Elections BC, I’ve been given the opportunity to encourage young people to participate in the B.C. election and referendum on electoral reform. Tremendous task? Certainly. Inspiring experience? 100 percent.

Here’s the thing: Voter apathy does exist, even if few people care about it. But there’s less of it than you may think. You see, in this role I’ve been consistently impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm of young people regarding the voting process.

B.C. youth are actively involved in the social and political activities and movements that shape the province-from petition signing, to community organizing, to volunteering and especially, to getting their peers charged up about voting.

Like Meg Fyfe, residence coordinator at the University of British Columbia, who organized “Reg the Res,” to encourage all first-year residence students to get on the voters list. Meg registered students for three consecutive nights at UBC while blasting oldies music through her stereo. Nothing draws a crowd like Steppenwolf and Chuck Berry.

Or Mario Miniaci and fellow students at the University of the Fraser Valley who organized a registration drive barbecue-in a late-winter snowfall. This effort included a practice vote for the favourite vegetable on campus (the winner-mushrooms).

And Emily Jubenvill and her crew of voting advocates at Get Your Vote On who have been postering, stickering and critical mass bike-riding their way to voter engagement. Their motto: Because the world is run by those who show up.

My position was created to inspire youth to get involved and vote, but many of the young people I met in the last three months have returned the favour by inspiring me. Their commitment, energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and I know they will continue to encourage their friends and family to show up and participate.

Statistics show that in the 2005 election, people aged 18 to 24 voted at the lowest rate of any age group, just 35%. But that was then. If the enthusiasm I experienced among youth four years later is any indication, we may see an encouraging increase from the low turnout rates of previous elections.

Our democracy is not static. It’s a dynamic system that is reflective of all who participate. This May 12 the youth of B.C. will step into voting stations across the province and mark their ballots-because we know that our vote matters and we’re ready to speak up.

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Contact:
Kenn Faris
Manager, Event Communications
Phone: 250-387-2949
Email: Kenn.Faris@elections.bc.ca