In a democracy, power is given to those who show up. Not voting has consequences. If parties don’t count your votes, they don’t count your opinions. Chinese and younger British Columbians have been counting for less because they have not been showing up to be counted on election day.
INNOVATIVE asked 600 members of the general public in a survey conducted in English, 200 Chinese-speaking BC voters and 100 Punjabi-speaking BC voters how likely they are to vote in the upcoming election and whether they feel voting is a duty or an individual choice. Using these responses, we explore differences in intended turnout by age and ethnicity and ask if these differences are permanent due to value changes or if there is a potential for turnout to return to higher levels.
