Sixty-six per cent of eligible Canadians voted in Monday’s federal election – far fewer than in the 2016 House of Representatives elections in Australia, where turnout was 91 per cent.
Voting is mandatory in Australia, and Australian Tim Sinclair-Smith – who is heading home after managing the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo – said it may be time for Canada to follow suit.
Growing up, voting was always important and taken seriously because people risked a fine they didn’t vote, he said.
“You can cop a $20 fine if you don’t vote so that can get quite expensive if you don’t vote. So before we left Australia we voted and headed over here,” he said.
“I think it’s a good thing. I think Canada should be doing it,” he said. “It’s important that people have their say and it just ensures that everybody is heard and I think it’s a great thing that Australia does.”
While not mandatory in Canada, he still voted Monday, he said.
“Most people including myself are happy to do it because you get a thorough say to who is representing you,” Sinclair-Smith said.
For general elections in India, where personal identification isn’t as common as it is in Canada, once a person votes they have their left index finger marked with a semi-permanent marker.
“Across the nail and up to the first mark of the finger, it stays anywhere between two days to two weeks,” said Kishore Gali, who has lived in Saskatoon for 15 years.
“It prevents voters from voting again for the second time.”
A heavy police presence is common, he said. Some polling stations have between 20 and 30 police to guard the ballots, and ballots are collected and escorted by police to a central location for counting.
Elections in India also last for weeks, as the country has about 900 million voters.
