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Youth vote really does matter

VOICE ON THE COAST
Voice on the Coast
Lyndsay Poaps speaks at the Voice on the Coast political pub night at the Roberts Creek Hall Saturday, Oct. 18.

More young people have to get out and vote. But how do we encourage young people to go to the polls on a more regular basis?

This was one of the questions posed and discussed by former Vancouver parks board member and youth voting advocate Lyndsay Poaps during her opening address at the Voice on the Coast political pub night at the Roberts Creek Hall Saturday, Oct. 18.

“Lots of people seem to think that young people not turning up to the polls isn’t a problem anymore,” Poaps said during a pre-meeting chat with Coast Reporter. “Well, in fact, it is getting worse. Young people just are not engaged in the political process and that is a dangerous thing for us as a society.”

And the numbers help to back up Poaps and her theories.

Although the Sunshine Coast had a great voter turnout in the last municipal election three years ago — almost 60 per cent — the trend of young voters going to the polls continued to drop. That message also rang true during the last federal election and in last year’s provincial election.

Poaps told the 80-plus people in attendance, including 28 candidates seeking office this November, that it is imperative that candidates engage with younger voters.

“Yes, social media is a great tool, but you have to speak to young voters and engage one-on-one,” she said. “In this community where you do have an older demographic it is easy for politicians to just stick with what has been working and engage with the older voter because, older voters relate to politicians. But on the flip side, since 2008 there has been no credible action on youth employment for example, at either a provincial or municipal level. Why is that, because youth are not a part of the discussion.”

She said that by engaging with young voters now, you have the chance to create a voter for life.

Poaps pointed to several factors as to why the youth vote is not coming out on election day: access and motivation.

She said many young people have a lack of clarity on election rules, have identification problems, and are not registered to vote.

As for motivation, she said there is a lack of knowledge of the election process, lack of political knowledge, issues that matter to them are not discussed and that politicians or a political party have never made contact with them.

“Young people are the future of our society, so why do we treat them like they don’t matter?” she said. “The truth is young people do matter and we all have to do a better job of making sure they are a part of the conversation.”

Following Poaps’ presentation, attendees broke up into round table discussions on the topics of: social issues/health and wellness, youth engagement, local economy, and environment/sustainability. A facilitator moderated each table and all of the notes and discussion will be collated by Voice on the Coast into a series of questions that will then be sent to all municipal candidates. Their responses will then be published on-line on the Voice on the Coast Facebook page prior to election day on Nov. 15.