Dear Sir:
Well, another provincial election is now past. Voter turn out at the provincial level has and continues to be embarrassing. Almost half the eligible voters did not bother to get out to vote. What do we do about it?
There have been ideas put forward to encourage voters to exercise their democratic right in a country that gives all it citizens the right to vote. Some have suggested fines for failure to vote during federal or provincial Elections.
We know that the next provincial election will take place in four years. I think we should petition the provincial government and encourage eligible voters for the 2017 election to be chosen by a lottery system.
Simply put, if the Province of British Columbia has three (3) million eligible voters for the 2017 election, we should pick one half of them by lottery draw. They would be the ones and the only ones who would be eligible to vote for the next provincial government in 2017.
Having only one half (1/2) of all the eligible voters randomly chosen to vote by lottery draw is in keeping with the average turn out of all the citizens in British Columbia during recent provincial elections.
Just think about it, you may never have to vote again. You may never have your name chosen by the lottery system. Then, you would have a reason for not getting out to vote.
Dennis MacKay, Smithers, B.C.