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Voter apathy is pathetic

It has been claimed that voter apathy seemingly increases the arrogance of those elected, but that’s not always the case.

To the Editor,

About 50 years ago Texan crooner Roy Orbison had a hit with It’s Over. That song now plays over and over in my cranial Wurlitzer Jukebox: the 40th B.C. provincial election is finally over!

The relentless and unabashed campaigning, all at taxpayers’ expense, began when Christy Clark was anointed as BC Liberal Party Leader in February 2011. During that time, we’ve all witnessed the following truism : “The more politically unattractive one is, the more sure of oneself one seems to be”.

I’m delighted that I’ll get no more robo-calls from political parties, nor from Stockwell Day, nor from the Dogwood Initiative; all  pushing their phony agendas. But I’m saddened once again by the abysmal election turnout.

Despite valiant efforts taken to increase the numbers of voters, like more efficient advance polling, we could still only manage a meagre 48 per cent turnout in B.C., according to early reports.

A few days earlier there was a general election in Pakistan where more than 60 per cent of the 86 million eligible voters came out to cast their ballots. That was despite a very real threat of violence from the Taliban, who killed 40-plus people at pre-election rallies.

I heard no reports of Kalishnikov-toting terrorists lurking behind the rhododendron bushes near voting places in B.C., yet our turnout was considerably lower than that of Pakistan.

It has been claimed that voter apathy seemingly increases the arrogance of those elected, but that’s not always the case. For example, with its mandatory voting laws there is a 98 per cent turnout for every election in Australia; however, in this imperfect world of ours, there are still reports of some arrogant antipodean autocrats.

Bernie Smith,

Parksville