Higher political education

The Canadian Federation of Students claims that Elections Canada decided to eliminate special ballot voting for University of Toronto students with next to no warning, leaving students wondering how to cast their vote:

The Students' Administrative Council, the central undergraduate students' union at the University of Toronto, had been working with Elections Canada to ensure that students living in campus residences could vote by "special ballot" in the Federal Election from Sunday, January 15 to Tuesday, January 17. This voting accommodation for was meant to ease the confusion among students living away from home during the election and improve voter turn-out amongst youth.

Elections Canada had officially notified the students' union, as well as candidates in the riding, that special ballot student voting would occur over three days, at seven locations in campus residences. The students' union had widely publicized these arrangements, in an effort to encourage students to participate in the Federal Election. On Saturday, January 14, at 9:45 pm, the evening before voting was set to begin, Elections Canada informed the students' union that these voting arrangements were being cancelled. No explanation was provided.

I'd certainly hope there's either a very good explanation or an alternative means of voting in the works. But for those students who may feel that their input through voting isn't valued, Elections Canada has done nothing but to reinforce that impression.

That said, it isn't yet too late for students to take initiative for themselves - though it will be soon. According to the Elections Canada website, any student wanting to vote through the special ballot process (which they'll have to if they're outside their home riding) will need to:
- register for the process through any Elections Canada returning officer by 6:00 PM Tuesday; and,
- ensure that the ballot reaches either the Ottawa office of Elections Canada, or the returning officer for the student's own riding, by 6:00 PM on the 23rd.

In sum, if students wait until the end of the period when Elections Canada was supposed to be on campus, it'll be too late to register for the special ballot process . Hopefully word will get out soon enough for students to find another way to register - and Elections Canada's sudden reversal won't affect the results in Trinity-Spadina or elsewhere.