Why our democracy depends on your vote

Some years ago, I did some pretty in-depth research on ancient Athens and its democratic system of government as part of a documentary film I was pitching. It was actually a lot of fun, because I was looking at ways their democratic beliefs and practices were both similar to and different from ours.

Some of the differences were quite striking, such as the fact that only Athenian-born males 18 years of age and over could participate. Or the fact their executive branch was selected by a totally random lottery system — a system one expert described as akin to picking names out of a phone book.

Then there was the practice of ostracism, a procedure I found particularly attractive. Essentially, every year the citizens of Athens chose a political figure who was becoming too powerful or pushing for a more authoritarian regime and voted to banish him from the city for 10 years.

Needless to say, I can think of quite a few politicians I’d like to see subjected to that procedure.

But there was another ancient democratic practice which also instantly commanded my attention and admiration. Any Athenian malingerers who failed to appear and vote at key political meetings were fined for slacking off on their civic duty.

Now, one can only imagine what would happen here if that practice was put into effect, given that the highest voter turnout in recent Winnipeg civic elections tallied up at just 50 per cent in 2014. Which means that the other 50 per cent would be adding a significant amount of cash to the city coffers via slacker fines.

Even better, those Athenians who did take time off work to go and vote were paid for their service to the state.

So where, you may ask, am I going with this?

Well, here’s the thing — I actually think that fining people who don’t vote and paying people who do isn’t a bad idea. Because people who don’t vote aren’t participating in our democratic system of governance, and we all pay for that.

Indeed, it could be argued that without mass participation our democracies inevitably wind up at significant risk.

Turns out the Athenians knew that all too well because, prior to establishing their democracy, they’d suffered under the yoke of tyrannical authoritarian regimes for a very long time. Regimes in which a wealthy elite or single individual seized power and ruled by decree.

If that doesn’t sound a little too frighteningly familiar, then you clearly haven’t been paying attention to the orange guy down south who’s been issuing all those executive orders.

Or the current mayor of Winnipeg, who issues his marching orders via his executive policy committee.

Those politicians remain in power largely because far too many of us don’t vote. In fact, in Winnipeg’s last civic election only 37.1 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot.

Which means that the 63 per cent who didn’t vote are likely those who ensured that Scott Gillingham won the mayoral race, instead of a progressive candidate such as Glen Murray or Shawn Loney.

It doesn’t help that a recent poll of 600 Winnipeggers, who weren’t even asked if they planned to vote, is interpreted by the media as a predictor of low voter turnout in our upcoming civic election.

How the heck do they figure that?

In fact, the only thing the poll did confirm was the fact that a vast majority of us are deeply unhappy with the state of our city, and almost 50 per cent of us do not want another four years of Scott Gillingham. The poll also revealed that 69 per cent of us don’t believe much is going to change as a result of the election.

But here’s the thing — equating voter dissatisfaction with low voter turnout just doesn’t hold water. However, framing it that way in the media almost guarantees that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because it lets all those people who don’t vote off the hook.

“Oh look,” I can hear all those non-voters say, “600 people think the election won’t change much, so why the heck should I vote!”

And that, my friends, is very bad for democracy. Because the reality is this — in a democratic system, change only happens when a majority of people are dissatisfied and angry with their governments. So angry that they ditch their apathy and vote for change.

So with the Winnipeg civic election looming, I suggest that you do some serious research. Take a look at who is running in your ward. You might just find a candidate who does speak your language and has a plan to address your concerns.

Once you’ve done that, then do your democratic duty and vote, because protecting our democracy depends on all of us.

Erna Buffie is a Winnipeg writer. To read more, visit www.ernabuffie.com.