Elections Canada has toyed with the idea of introducing e-democracy for future elections. This would seem like a logical advancement in democracy given the technological age we now live in. Canadians might soon be able to participate in elections from the convenience of their own homes. But would more of us be willing to take part in this form of democracy?
Of course, there are a number of hurdles to overcome in this venture before it could become a reality. First and foremost are the questions of security and vote tampering. We would still need to run traditional polling stations because not all Canadians are computer literate or wish to use a computer for such purposes. This means that e-democracy would not help reduce the cost of elections. Still, this is just one of the creative ideas being put forward to try and raise voter turnout above 60 per cent.
The sad reality about low voter turnout is these are consistent across all developed states and making elections more convenient might not be the answer. Most people lay the blame at the feet of voter apathy; that citizens are just too complacent in their political system to care. Our elected officials are, however, just as much to blame as they no longer engage citizens. As a political class in our society, many of them feel it is their right to make decisions on our behalf without consulting us on a regular basis to test the waters, returning only when an election is to transpire so they can renew their tenure in office. In short, Canadians have become disengaged from our political system because we have been taught that our opinions do not matter. This is a major flaw of our representative democracy and a breach of trust.
If you were to ask our elected officials, they would deny that they have become disconnected from voters, but what else could they do but deny this? If they were to admit it, our lack of confidence in this system of democracy would be confirmed. Instead, many would put forward straw-man arguments, stating, “the people they have spoken ...” using this line to support their position. Such an argument has no empirical support to back it up, nor does it indicate who they have spoken with. It could be 10 of their closest friends, but we don’t know, as the argument has been designed to deflect our criticisms.
In fairness, the task of trying to solicit public opinion could be a daunting one, especially with all the decisions that elected officials have to make. But here is a perfect place to introduce e-democracy, using technology to bridge that gap between the elected official and the citizenry, improving our democratic system by making it more direct in nature. There are still hurdles to overcome and there is no guarantee Canadians would agree with such an idea but maybe, the elected officials would have a better idea of what we think about specific political and economic initiatives and our confidence in Canadian democracy could be restored. We could even give it some catchy name like iThink, encouraging more Canadians to participate in the political decision-making process.
John Kennair is an international consultant and doctor of laws who lives in St. Albert.
