Now That Voting Has Started …

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… it is time to remind voters that you are not obliged to vote for all the positions available. There are, for example, 10 Council seats up for election but you only have to vote for those you actually want: if there are only 5 or 6 Council candidates you support, then only vote for those. Same goes for Park Board and School Board.

Local political writer Ray Tomlin has explained it well:

“Having spoken with strategists working within the 10 civic parties offering candidates for election in 2022, civic campaign managers are recommending their voters “plump their ballot” — voting only for the candidate(s) they really want to see elected. “Pro-plumping” strategists are telling their voters that giving a vote to someone you really don’t care about, simply to fill the ballot, weakens the position of those you really do want in. Too many votes for a candidate running with a party you don’t support not only weakens your vote for the candidates you want to see win on election night, it dramatically increases the likelihood that your favourite candidates may lose.”

It is also worth noting that civic politics controls much of your daily life — development, zoning, business licensing, basic municipal services — and yet fewer people vote in civic elections than for other levels of government. Whoever you support, do yourself a favour and make sure you vote!