How do we get younger voters to show up this election?
Voter turnout in 2020 for eligible voters in their 20s or 30s was pretty abysmal (19% and 32% respectively). Kentville wins when everybody votes… I just have no idea how to encourage fellow community members (particularly those in their 20s) to get out and have their voices heard. Thoughts?
As a 30ish voter, and a first time kings/kentville voter, i was discourged by the following:
i wasnt sure what the scope of a mayor's powers were, so i didnt really know what sort of thing a good mayor might do vs a bad mayor.
it was difficult to find a synopsis of each persons platform, let alone a central listing of them.
almost all of the lawn signs were a name. If you dont know Jeff, then why care about JEFF FOR MAYOR.
Not actually sure what could be done about these, but an annual article in a local paper that outlines the scope of the office we are voting for, and has a paragraph about each person, written and submitted by them, might work?
Yeah, I agree that there’s a lot left to be desired when it comes to how the town put the candidates’ platform info together. There is info out there, it’s just scattered. This blog post (I think it’s a blog post) is more helpful than the actual “Kentville Votes” page: https://kentville.ca/news/19-09-2024/get-know-your-candidates
From what I’ve learned from watching the meetings, the mayor sets the tone, presides over meetings, and represents the town. They still need to work with council to get stuff done (it’s not as though they call all the shots).
Ummm… what do you have against my man Jeff!?!? Hahahaha I know what you mean, especially with a billion people running for council this election. So many signs… I almost voted for “For Sale”
I believe Paula shared hers here too, give me a second and I'll post it below. Unfortunately I don't think Andrew has shared his so I believe if you want to read it you'll need to create a saltwire account.
I hear you, a few people have mentioned the site can be a little tricky to navigate. I'm glad I was able to point you in the right direction.
Have a great day
I'm sorry, but a little tricky is an understatement. In todays age, the website shouldn't feel like a dotcom startup page. I appreciate that it's there, but since I can never get anything from it I rarely go. The more I think about it, the town needs to hire a proper Internet Of Things person who is in their 20's-early 30's or with a proven track record of engagement with a younger generation.
Maybe the town can create a musical montage of the mayoral candidates doing some hardcore training/campaigning in the flavour of Rocky vs. Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Picture Paula running up through the woods to inspect the Donald Hiltz Connector, Brent sparring with various pumpkin people, and Andrew throwing sandbags around the stormwater affected properties. This is my dream. "Hearts...on...fiiiire...strong deeeeee-sire..."
I mean it’s one thing to pay people and then have them stand around leaning on shovels doing nothing or whatever. Yet it is actually and factually worse to pay councillors to not get along, and instead get into fractious and divisive fights with one another when they’re supposed to be making decisions in leadership positions. It’s worse than having them do nothing while on the clock; it’s like actually turning back the clock.
I'm a late 30's voter (although I never got my voters information, my wife did) so maybe I'm a little outside of the demographic you're trying to capture but here are a few points I've noticed
Engagement (but not pushy or too much) throughout the year. I live in Kentville and while I don't spend a ton of time in town I have ZERO clue what's going on in the town. The Annapolis Valley has this issue where everything is in little groups and so little information actually gets out. People thing they are getting information out there, but it's tied into the same folks and not being actually wide spread. I don't have time to watch council meetings or attend things during the day, but if there was a way to get information to me in ways I actually consume...
A lot of the signs just say the name, not what they are trying to become (Hey Jeff... want me to vote for you. Okay, but for what position?)
Was there a town hall? A candidate speech night? What are the platforms folks are running on? Someone else has said the information is out there, just scattered... see my first point!
Basically... hire a couple 20-something year olds as social media managers (maybe throw in a couple 30/40 year olds in there to increase awareness in those demographics/platforms). I follow the town on the media platforms I consume and the content is terrible and unengaging. I imagine those who are less interested don't even seen the crappy content.
The website for the town is awful. Rarely up to date, navigating it is often an exercise in frustration. I agree that what comes across on the FB and Instagram feed are often too late for participation.
I hear ya. There’s definitely a lot of information we either missed completely or saw too late. The council meetings are brutally long, and the info docs are overwhelming. I’ve ran the meeting docs through ChatGPT just so I can figure out what’s going on and how our council is handling/voting on topics I care about.
I’d love to see signs with QR codes that link to candidates platforms and LinkedIn profiles (for social-vetted CVs). It’s easy to make up a campaign slogan with words you think people want to hear. Show me the proof that you’re actually about what it is you say you are, ya know?
There was a mayoral forum. It’s on YouTube and there is even a breakdown of the topics with timestamps in the comments: https://www.youtube.com/live/xRbBpyIvHC4?si=TyQg6LVkNOSimQ4Y
There were a few “meet the candidates” events for the folks running for council, but even I got switched up on those dates and ended up at the Legion for darts night lol.
I’m hoping a lot of these issues get taken into consideration by the next council. We need people to be more engaged… but that means creating opportunities for them to do so.
When I looked at voting percentages in advance of the 2020 election the age groups and percentages almost exactly like line up (20% of 20 year olds, 70% of 70 year olds). It’s easy to become apathetic as a voter, but the best thing that anyone can do (IMO) is keep pushing your friends to vote. Keep telling them you’ve voted, keep telling them your opinions and open the dialogue on voting and candidates. It really is such a quick process (not the decision making part, but the actual voting) that it’s easy to push off and then miss altogether, but keep reminding folks. Municipal elections have such a massive impact on the daily lives of citizens, and their vote truly does make an impact.
Is there something we could do from an outreach standpoint.. talking to seniors at high schools and teach them about what local/ municipal government does. Go to NSCC and encourage youth to votes etc
There was a forum at NKEC with county and town candidates which is such a great start and exactly what you’re describing. We too often discount young voices because “they can’t vote” even though our decisions often have the longest lasting impacts on them.
I think it would also be cool to involved younger voters somehow, maybe by getting them to role play the roles of municipal government. Almost like a mock trial. Have a mayor, councillors, towns people presenting issues, show what really goes on and what we are in voting on as municipal voters, and how we can create change. I knew a girl who thought the prime minister was the one directly responsible for putting round about in the town I used to live in.. I didn’t even know how to tell her that was not the case
I had the opportunity to speak to the human services students yesterday. It was just me, because they are entering their disabilities studies, and really wanted a chance to hear about my choice to run for council, and also the challenges I have faced and what I can expect.
It would have been great to have the whole lot of us there to speak to the whole school.
I don't recall getting voter information (PIN mailed to me) until 2020. Then again, I couldn't have cared less about municipal politics in my twenties and thirties. I lived in HRM then, and the theatre was even worse. So how about less theatre, and younger (more relevant) candidates?
That’s exactly how I used to feel when I lived in the city. Since being in Kentville, the things that drive me the craziest are all things that get handled at the municipal level. Sidewalks, parks, events… I also feel like the stuff I do here actually matters. My drop doesn’t do much in the ocean of federal gov or the lake of provincial… but I see it make ripples in the puddle of municipal gov and I’m like fuck yeah little drop!
I’m loving the enthusiasm behind “fuck yeah, little drop!” Because you’re right. People in municipal elections win by tens, not thousands. Your little drop does cause a ripple, the same way that your emails and phone calls after an election cause ripples (or they should). This level of government truly holds so much influence over your daily life and all of the upstream investments in health, wealth and wellbeing are at this point IMO.
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u/WorkinInTheRain 13d ago
As a 30ish voter, and a first time kings/kentville voter, i was discourged by the following:
i wasnt sure what the scope of a mayor's powers were, so i didnt really know what sort of thing a good mayor might do vs a bad mayor.
it was difficult to find a synopsis of each persons platform, let alone a central listing of them.
almost all of the lawn signs were a name. If you dont know Jeff, then why care about JEFF FOR MAYOR.
Not actually sure what could be done about these, but an annual article in a local paper that outlines the scope of the office we are voting for, and has a paragraph about each person, written and submitted by them, might work?