GET INFORMED,
GET REGISTERED,
GET VOTING!

It’s never too early or too late to start getting involved

BY BEX PETERSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Are you unhappy about the state of the world, the country, and your local community? Do
you look at the US or even as close to home as Ontario and shudder at the idea of all that
happening here? Do you wish you could influence local policy changes even a little bit?

Well, it sounds like you should register to vote!

There are two opportunities to make your voice heard this October: The municipal election on
October 20, and the mail-in Referendum on Electoral Reform from October 22 to November 2. Both
of these votes will have significant impacts on your local community and the province at large.

WAIT, WHAT'S HAPPENING WHEN?

No shame if you’re lost or a little behind on what's going on politically; let's take it back to high school
social studies.

This October your local government is holding a municipal election. This means your mayor, city
councillors, and school board trustees are all running for election or re-election. Candidates will either be
running independently or as part of a slate. A slate, it should be noted, is not the same as a political party,
however slates can reflect the priorities of provincial or federal parties. A slate is more like an agreement
between candidates to share the work in campaigning and to vote together on issues if elected. So, while
voting for someone who's part of a slate is not the same as voting for someone who's running on behalf of
a particular party, it’s worth seeing what their slate formally supports and who they're running with.

The Electoral Referendum is another matter entirely. The Other Press has already covered what the
referendum will entail, but to quickly recap, the province is trying to fix our current voting system. Right
now, we operate under a “first-past-the-post” (FPTP) voting system, which has been criticized for not
truly representing the wishes of voters. Our choices on the referendum will be to change from FPTP to
a dual member proportional system, mixed member proportional system, or rural-urban proportional
representation system.

THAT DOESN'T SOUND VERY EXCITING.
WHY SHOULD | CARE?

I'll admit, as someone who's actually sat down and listened to several full city council meetings, it’s not
exactly prime entertainment. However, your local city council and school board are responsible for decisions
that can impact some pretty significant parts of your day-to-day life!

Do you take transit and wish you had a better bus system in your town—or even better, a light rail
system of some kind? City council decides a lot of that. Do you care about your local parks? That's usually
covered by municipal government as well. Do you think rent in your area is unaffordable? Congratulations
on living in the Lower Mainland, but yes, municipal government has a large role to play in affordable
housing decisions. The province can try to put forward initiatives to help ease the financial burden on
renters and home owners, but without the support of local government, we’re not going to see much in
the way of substantial change on that front.

Voting for the school board is important too! It may not affect you directly at the moment, but for the
sake of those still in public school and for the sake of your siblings, relatives, or (potential future) offspring,
it’s worth keeping an eye on where the local school budget is going.

As for the referendum, well, if you feel like your vote doesn’t matter much right now because of the
current system, your vote can have a hand in changing it!