HALIFAX – It will be some time before the impact of continuous polling in the Nova Scotia election is known.
Thursday night marked the end of the first time the province has used continuous polling in a provincial election.
Voters were able to cast their ballots every day, except Sunday, leading up to the Thursday night before the election.
Dana Philip Doiron, director of policy and communications with Elections Nova Scotia, says more than 45,000 people took advantage of the continuous poll. He expects the number to rise to 50,000 once all the ballots are counted.
But do those numbers mean that more voters are engaged in this election? Doiron, who says there are 710,000 eligible voters in the province, isn’t sure.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the overall voter turnout. I think what we will find, none of us will know until after election day, is the people who choose to vote, sometimes they’ll choose to vote at their convenience, some will still vote traditionally on election day,” he said.
Doiron says the number of people who used the continuous polls has already exceeded the number of voters who cast ballots in the advance polls in the last provincial election.
However, he adds that whether those voters are new won’t be known until an analysis is done post-election.
“The numbers game is very, very difficult. We don’t know what it means when people vote early except maybe it’s just more convenient for them,” he said.
But one person who won’t be voting is Katlynn Westhaver.
The Dalhousie University student says she has no plans to cast a ballot on October 8.
“Personally, it’s never been anything that’s ever attracted my attention,” she said.
Westhaver isn’t alone in her voter apathy; if the election follows the trend, low voter turnout can be expected.
Since 1998, turnout in Nova Scotian elections has dropped steadily from 69 percent in 1998 to about 58 percent in 2009.
“Normally when people vote, they are upset with their choices in the end. That’s the way I see it,” Westhaver said.
Many young voters say they don’t see how politics translates into their lives.
“I don’t have enough interest in politics to contribute I guess,” said Evan McDonald.
“I’ve just never really voted,” said Tom Wilding. “I find it doesn’t really… my opinion doesn’t really do that much.”
Those who did vote in the continuous poll say it’s critical they do.
“I’ve been following the candidates,” said Maryann Archibald, who cast her ballot at the Halifax Needham returning office.
“I want to be able to watch the events unfold on the day knowing that I made my decision already and have it under my belt.”
“It’s part of being Canadian, to have that freedom. A lot of countries don’t provide that freedom,” said Constance Hall.
Doiron says an audit team made up of professional election experts from across the country are closing watching Nova Scotia’s election.
Advance polls open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Polling stations will open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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