Now that the snap federal election race is upon us I will use its voting opportunities to illustrate one nefarious result of progressive trends towards earlier and earlier voting, whether by mail or in person at advance polls.
The race and its sequence of events are described by Elections Canada in their
36-Day Calendar. This calendar counts down to the closing event, Election Day. Election Day is on Monday, September 20th and is Day 0 in the countdown. The countdown starts with the opening event on Sunday August 15th as Day 36.
Rather than use countdown numbering for my illustrative purposes, I am numbering the start of the race as Day zero and the election Day as Day 36.
Day 1 is Monday, August 16th when our fellow citizens who are so inclined can submit the required paperwork for registration as a candidate.
Day 15 is Monday, August 30th when the registration period closes.
Now imagine you are a candidate who completed all registration requirements by Day 15 and you are running for the first time as a newbie to the political arena.
You have arranged funding and are in the process of getting your message publicized in print, on radio, in social media, at BBQs and with lawn signs.
So far, so good.
Then on Day 26 the polls open for early voting. But only 11 days have elapsed between the end of candidate registration and the first day of advance polls.
So before you can get your campaign into high gear, voters are already marking their ballots.
You have had only 11 days to engage with the voting public.
Not very respectful of the sacrifices of family time and privacy you have made with the intention of serving as a Member of Parliament.
On top of that, people can start the vote by mail process even earlier, on Day 1.
These time frames are a part of the system. The disrespectful short time allowance is part of the system. One nefarious result of these early voting opportunities is the systemic dissing of all candidates, not just newbies.
To properly respect the time and effort that candidates contribute to the election race, almost every voter should wait until the end of the election and mark their choice in person on the paper ballot at a neighbourhood polling place, thereby making Election Day a significant community event.
One day voting. It's polite. It's tolerant. It's adult. It honours each candidate.
