As Canadians we are very lucky to be able to vote whenever and however we want. The crisis in Libya is proof of that. But many of us also take advantage of the fact that we can drive or walk to the polling stations that are sometimes just a stones throw away from where we live and work.
But not everyone in this country is that lucky. A new Facebook group in Calgary is aiming to make sure that no one has trouble getting to the polls on election day. The group is asking that Calgary city transit be free on election day. They say, if it was city buses and Ctrain were free, voters would have more options to get themselves to the polls and that will hopefully ensure a large turnout of people who wouldn’t normally vote.
While I’m not usually a believer in the power of Facebook groups (Betty White excluded,) I wanted to let you know about this group because I think it is such a great idea.
I know that many political parties offices offer drives to polling stations but I’ve always felt that that was their way of securing extra votes. Not that the people they pick up have to vote for the party that drove them, but it plays to the human nature of Canadians and assumes that they probably will.
I’m not sure if Facebook groups like Free Fare Elections exist around the country, but if they do, let me know and I’ll post their links too. It’s not often that Calgary is on the forefront of such an important initiative, here’s hoping the other cities take note.
It’s a small group right now, so I’d love if checked the page out and ‘like’ it. Even if you don’t live in Calgary, the bigger the numbers, the faster word will spread. Even you really, really like it, make sure you click the ‘share’ button and post it on your wall.
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Mike, with all due respect, this is a ridiculous idea. Ridiculous as in “bad”, not the interpretation that means “good”, just to be clear.
Calgary Transit brings in something like $450,000 per day in revenue. However, it runs at a net loss, with the cost to operate being $930,000 a day. Thus, the City of Calgary (or, more accurately, the taxpayers of Calgary) would lose half a million in revenue, and still have to spend almost a million dollars.
For what? An election that is at a completely different level of government. It is NOT a municipality’s jurisdiction to provide free transit to everyone for a single day just because some people will use transit to go vote.
Furthermore, is it lack of access to transit because of financial hardship that is keeping people from voting? I doubt it. There were some 18,000 polling stations in Canada in 2008. People don’t have to walk far to get to one.
And if they can’t walk there, well first off, they probably can’t walk to a bus either. And there are a plethora of other options. There are mobile advance voting stations that will go to seniors and people with disabilities. The parties themselves have drivers to get voters to the polling station. Want to vote for a party? Call up the constituency office of the person you’re voting for and tell ’em you need a ride. I don’t see how anyone is beholden to anyone if you’re calling the people you plan to vote for anyway.
I do love that people take an interest in democracy and want to promote voting by people who wish to do so. That is commendable and laudable. However, this particular method of doing so is aimed at the wrong level of government, is bloody expensive, and is overtly stupid.
Somebody didn’t think this nonsense through, I’m afraid.
Good for these organizers for caring. They’d serve themselves and all of us well directing their caring to something less ridiculous.