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Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Switch to mail ballots will boost Kalispell turnout
Jun. 22—Voters in Kalispell municipal elections will now receive their ballots exclusively by mail. In a split vote last week, Council made the decision to transition away from polling-place elections. It's a move that could save taxpayer funding and help increase voter turnout. Still, Mayor Mark Johnson and Councilor Sid Daoud dissented, both expressing a distaste for letting go of the traditional in-person option. Daoud — who is running for mayor in the next election — even espoused mail-in voting as "un-American." Rhetoric aside, voting from afar is nothing new in this country and there's nothing unpatriotic about it. In fact, the practice dates to the Civil War when soldiers were allowed to cast ballots from the battlefield for elections in their hometowns, according to MIT's Election Lab. Absentee ballot laws for civilians, meanwhile, can be traced back to the 1800s, well before Montana was even a state. Today, eight states allow all elections — federal, state and local — to be conducted exclusively by mail. Meanwhile, Montana is among nine states that allows all mail ballots for small elections, such as municipal and school district elections. While data is mixed, it generally points to increased voter participation in elections conducted by mail, particularly local elections. One study in Colorado revealed an 8% uptick in voter participation during mail elections. Given that Kalispell's most recent election in 2023 saw just 263 poll voters, a dismal 4% of eligible poll voters, any increase would be a welcome change. While Mayor Johnson decries losing the tradition of going to the polls on Election Day, the convenience factor of voting by mail shouldn't be underestimated as a way to ensure everyone gets to vote. "You're reaching out to every single active eligible voter and providing them the opportunity to vote without having to narrow it down to one day in a specific time window." Flathead County Election Manager Paula Buff told the Council. It's important to note that the new system does not eliminate the option to fill out or return a ballot in person. People can still go to the election office where there will be poll booths set up. Increased voter participation and lower taxpayer costs? There's nothing unpatriotic about that.
Montreal Gazette
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Editorial: Don't take voting for granted
By Elections Canada reported that a historic number of Canadians turned up at advance polls to cast their ballots over the Easter weekend — a 25 per cent increase in early voting over 2021. It is heartening in an era of waning civic engagement that a record 7.3 million voters took the time to stand and be counted. The showing was particularly strong in Quebec, where 1.5 million electors came out to polling stations ahead of time. Let's hope it portends a healthy turnout for election day this Monday. This is, after all, a consequential contest triggered amid unprecedented economic and existential turmoil for the country. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats of annexation are upending Canada's relationship with its biggest trade partner, ally and friend — and shaking up the political landscape in the process. But high stakes does not guarantee high participation. Even when facing stark choices, many voters have decided to sit out recent elections. Last November's U.S. presidential race is an interesting example — although there is nuance. The 2024 U.S. election had the 'second-largest total voter turnout in U.S. history in absolute terms,' according to an analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations, with 156 million Americans casting ballots. However, the participation rate of 63 per cent was actually lower than in 2020, when it hit 66 per cent. The University of Florida's Election Lab showed that about 90 million Americans stayed home, or about 36 per cent of eligible voters. In fact, more of the electorate skipped voting than the number that cast a ballot for Trump or the number that voted for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. That's a big pool of non-voters, given the races for the presidency and control of Congress were determined by extremely slim margins. Some breakdowns have suggested a significant chunk of those who declined to make their marks did so because they were disenchanted with the Biden White House's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some Jewish voters were upset that the Democrats weren't staunch enough in their backing of Israel, while some Muslim and Arab voters felt Harris wasn't strong enough in her concern for Palestinians. This has echoes of 2016, when Hillary Clinton lost to Trump because a majority of the eligible voters who failed to turn up on election day were Democrats, including some who preferred Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primaries. Trump emerged victorious, defying the predictions of pollsters. In Canada, turnout can also make or break outcomes. In 2015, the participation rate was 68.3 per cent when the federal Liberals of Justin Trudeau won their first and only majority, in part due to a boost from a cohort of young electors. It was stronger than the 61.1 per cent of eligible voters who cast ballots in 2011 and the paltry 58.8 per cent who did in 2008. But levels have been sliding ever since 2015. It slipped to 67 per cent in 2019 and 62.6 per cent in 2021 — both elections in which voters were deeply split, resulting in minority Liberal governments (although the pandemic may also have been a factor in 2021). Election outcomes can, indeed, hinge on no-shows. So Canadians thinking of abstaining — whether out of apathy, disillusionment or an assumption that the results are a foregone conclusion — may want to think twice. There are no perfect candidates, platforms or policies. But voting is a sacred right and duty that must not be taken for granted, especially when democracy around the world is proving fragile.
