Should we have mandatory voting in Manitoba?

Last provincial election only a little more than half of the eligible voters in Manitoba actually voted. This was one of the lowest turnouts in the history of our province. In Australia, they have moved to mandatory voting and they now have more than 90% of eligible voters who vote.

Mandatory voting is controversial. There seems something wrong about having to force people to vote. On the other hand, consider this - in the last provincial election, nine of the 35 NDP MLAs were elected with less than 30% of the eligible voters voting for them. A major reason for this was the poor turnout. Only 54% of eligible voters voted. This means that 46% of eligible voters in Manitoba did not take their responsibility to vote seriously. Surely we need to send a stronger signal to citizens that their responsibility to vote must be taken seriously.

We need to consider the success Australia and 32 other countries have had with mandatory voting. As one of those who listened to Mac Harb said yesterday - it would send a message - "vote because your freedom to choose depends on your participation and your vote". As Mac Harb pointed out, mandatory voting reduces the power of special interest groups and improves democratic participation.

Tomorrow Senator Mac Harb will be in Winnipeg speaking at the Frontier Centre and the Laurier Club about mandatory voting. This is part of our efforts, led by Kevin Lamoureux, to look at electoral reform in Manitoba, and to better understand what has been done in other jurisdictions. In this photo, Mac and I are eating nips at the Salsbury House restaurant on L'Esplanade Riel earlier this evening. Write me a note at jgerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca to let me know what you think about mandatory voting for Manitoba?