Voter Turnout in Canada

Eric P. Mintz is an associate professor of political science at the
Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Many people would be surprised to learn that Canada has one of the
lowest voter turnout rates of countries normally considered democratic.
This book provides some empirical findings relevant to the explanation
of nonvoting and an assessment of some possible ways of increasing
turnout.

Munroe Eagles finds that socioeconomic factors, such as the proportion
of low-income families and aboriginals and the extent of residential
mobility, are more closely associated with lower turnout in a
constituency than are political factors, such as the closeness of a
constituency contest or the amount of campaign expenditures. As well,
there is considerable regional variation in turnout rates, even with
other factors controlled.

Using survey data, Jon Pammett provides evidence that young persons
have a particularly high rate of nonvoting. To a lesser extent, those
who are single, low-income, blue-collar workers, and those who do not
adhere to one of the major religions have higher than average rates of
nonvoting. The most common reason given by nonvoters for their
inactivity is being away from home. Pammett estimates that over
two-fifths of the nonvoters may be “administratively
disenfranchised” because voting can be difficult for those away from
home, sick, or busy on election day.

Using a comparative analysis, Jerome Black finds that the single-member
plurality electoral system tends to be associated with substantially
lower turnout rates than are proportional representation systems. But
with electoral-system change unlikely, Black recommends a variety of
other reforms, including voting-day registration, a longer advance
voting period, a limited use of postal voting, and Sunday voting—all
of which are associated with higher turnout rates in other countries.

Although some differences exist among the researchers about the causes
of nonvoting, this book provides useful advice about changes to
Canada’s electoral laws that would encourage a higher rate of turnout.