Elections

Vote, Vote, Baby! Why Your Ballot Might Just Be a Blurry Memory!

Elections taking a crazy turn! Errors cause uncounted ballots, Leduc’s on the sign warpath and SFU goes French for election night!

Elections BC has just dropped a bombshell on our voting process! It seems that several ballots were left uncounted due to "errors" during the recent election cycle. If that doesn’t sound like plot twist worthy of a political thriller, we don’t know what does! Picture this: a diligent voter, armed with a pen and high hopes, bravely casting their ballot only to have it vanish into the ether of electoral mishaps. As citizens rally for fairness, we can’t help but wonder—what’s with these phantom votes? We need a superhero for our ballots! 🎭

Meanwhile, across the border, the City of Leduc is throwing down the gauntlet when it comes to election advertising. Candidates are being put on notice with strict guidelines that prohibit the use of the City's logo along with those of local school divisions. It seems Leduc is intent on keeping the campaign materials as clean as a whistle — no branded logos required — just the candidates’ charisma and compelling messages! It might seem a bit suffocating for campaigners, but if you’re going to grab attention, better do it with style (and without any city logos, please!).

On a lighter note, francophones are in for a real treat at the Simon Fraser University (SFU), where the Bureau des affaires francophones et francophiles (BAFF) is hosting a lively session to watch the U.S. election results in French! If you’ve ever wanted to shout “Quoi?” while munching on popcorn during election night in your best French accent, then this soirée is tailored just for you! With discussions, camaraderie, and a race to see who can predict the outcomes first, this event might just be the most entertaining civic duty since, well, the last election!

Lastly, U.S. Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke took to the stage to encourage youth engagement in the electoral process. At a session hosted at the Faculty of Political Science, her insights into the American election process were electrifying! She promoted the idea that every young voice matters, igniting a spark of political involvement among students. Engagement is key, and what better news to send buzzing around campuses than a reminder that democracy doesn't work without you!

As we reflect on these snippets of electoral excitement, did you know that in Canada, voter turnout typically hovers around 60%? Still, that's a huge opportunity for more voices to be heard! And speaking of elections in the U.S., over 50% of young Americans reported they were not aware of the voting process prior to the 2020 election! It seems there’s a lot of room for improvement, but every conversation about engagement is a step in the right direction, eh?