Nothing changes. The seasons march on, the world turns — and a bored and disengaged electorate is called to the polls once again.
But this time, things could be different as we go through another federal election campaign.
I’m not suggesting the May 2 results in Alberta will be different.
We can expect to see the Conservatives take Alberta with minimal effort, sweeping aside most if not all their opponents like those big chunks of ice that move down the Red Deer River during breakup.
What could be different in this fourth federal election in seven years (during which time Albertans have also seen two provincial elections and three municipal elections) is the role Internet social media, Facebook and Twitter, may play for the first time. A whole new demographic — younger eligible voters who are mostly just not interested in elections — might actually become engaged.
It’s an experiment in the works that began on Saturday with the election call. It would be the beginnings, over a longer period of time than this one election, of a more balanced government if more eligible voters began to participate.
During the last federal election in 2008, the voter turnout across the country was only 58.8 per cent. Almost 10 million eligible Canadian voters stayed home — equivalent to the entire populations of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The double shame is that the Red Deer riding didn’t even hit the national average. Only 49.9 per cent of eligible voters here carried out their democratic duty.
The picture for all of Central Alberta was not much better. Voter turnout for Wild Rose riding was 56.2 per cent; Wetaskiwin 52.9 per cent; and Crowfoot 54.9 per cent.
While many people — every previous recent election proves them right — think Central Alberta is a done deal when it comes to electing Conservatives, what would happen if more voters turned out? We might see a few more Liberals, New Democrats and Greens elected, balancing things out.
Today’s youth are a more diverse, educated, informed, tolerant, tuned-in generation maybe than ever before. And they’ve taken to social media like bears bingeing on buffalo berries. Maybe candidates could get them to work up the same enthusiasm for voting.
There are 17 million, or one-in-two, Canadians on Facebook and five million on Twitter. Most people know Facebook is an Internet networking service that lets people connect with each other. Twitter is an online quick-messaging service that lets users send out short text messages (Tweets). In this election, voters can follow all the parties, leaders and candidates via the quick-hit means of Facebook or Twitter.
The Globe and Mail reports that one day after the election was called, more than 14,000 Tweets had already been sent out related to the election or Canadian politics.
Less than 2,000 tweets on the same topics went out the weekend before.
For election candidates, social media offers instant feedback on how voters respond to issues. For voters, it could put them in instant contact with candidates who respond to their Facebook or Twitter postings. It’s more personal than any robot-dialed phone call.
Social media helped Calgary’s new popular mayor, Naheed Nenshi, get elected. He started out with just three per cent support. Along the way, he attracted a lot of younger voters. He also had more Facebook “friends” than his opponents.
Social media has played a role in recent revolutionary events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It’s people taking action that actually leads to change, but the tools they use are helping speed up positive change.
In 2010, it was estimated that almost 80 per cent of Canadians were using the Internet, according to Nielsen, a company that does market research.
Social media can strengthen our democracy by involving more eligible voters. One day we will see online voting in a general election.
But first things first — the candidates need to engage voters.
Mary-Ann Barr is the Advocate’s assistant city editor. She can be reached by email at barr@www.reddeeradvocate.com or by phone at 403-314-4332.