How do we get more people to vote?

[plam]

How do we get more people to vote?  There are many ways but I would use caution.  More people voting does not guarantee a better democracy.

Last month in Toronto over 330,000 people voted for Doug Ford.  The media politely calls these people "low information voters."  And they are everywhere.  I'm not suggesting they shouldn't be allowed to vote but I certainly wouldn't encourage them.  After all, we do live in a democracy and they have the same rights as you and I.

Last night my nephew and niece-in-law showed a video called "Ford Nation Folk Speak."  Have a look.  I would be interested in your opinion.

http://vimeo.com/110365134

Calls to vote implicitly include a precondition: "go find out about the candidates. Then, vote for the candidate who you think will best meet your needs". It's important to not lose sight of that precondition: we don't really want to encourage uninformed participation.

Having said that, of course everyone should have the right to vote. Voter suppression, as practiced in the US, is particularly problematic. Canada is much better at letting all citizens vote, and I strongly support that. Who am I to say that certain classes of people shouldn't vote? We just have to trust that people will do the right thing and inform themselves before voting. Sometimes systems get out of control, and so the results of the vote aren't always the right thing, but I think that overall it is.

In terms of voting for Doug Ford: in my opinion, people are expressing a certain dissatisfaction with the "elites" by voting for a Ford, and the Fords have managed to (brilliantly) position themselves as anti-elite. Rationally, it doesn't make sense, but emotionally, I think it does make sense for people to vote the way they did, in terms of a sense of belonging and being listened to.

I'm always skeptical of edited videos. You can make anyone look bad by judicious editing. People are less random than it seems.