Melissa Bowman
Melissa Bowman reflects on the impact of low turnout on the legitimacy of government. Bowman introduced some efforts to reduce barriers to candidacy and turnout from the Grey Highlands municipality. She discussed where the responsibility to promote elections rests, while considering municipal efforts to engage residents, sign bylaws, and grassroots efforts. Melissa considered the establishment of political parties and ballot reform as ideas that deserve scrutiny.
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Canadian voter turnout has been in a long decline since at least the 1960s. In a span of 13 months, Federal, Provincial, and Regional elections occurred in our region with turnouts of 62%, 45%, and 25% respectively. While elections and voting are not the only way to engage with government, the decline is undeniable and we should examine the reasons behind it and the future consequences should it remain low. Our speakers take a look at turnout from academic and practical perspectives, applying their years of experience, and engaging with the audience.
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About Melissa Bowman
Melissa Bowman is a community advocate interested in city-building, local politics, and social justice. She writes a weekly blog, Citified, that explores many of those issues. In 2018, she ran for local council in Kitchener. Melissa is also co-founder of Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard, a grassroots group that urges the cities of Waterloo Region to allow for more housing, especially affordable housing.
In addition to the above, you can find Melissa on Mastodon, Instagram, and Twitter.
In addition to the above, you can find Melissa on Mastodon, Instagram, and Twitter.
"Voter turnout is entwined with community engagement. If we offer community engagement opportunities when it is truly beneficial to the process, identify peoples’ actual behaviour, and collect and use demographic data, I am hopeful that will bring us closer to the quality community engagement we need. Ideally, that will result in increased voter turnout as well."- Melissa Bowman, Waterloo Region Yes In My Back Yard |