We ask students what made them decide who to vote for and strategic voting
By Jessica Berget, Editor-in-Chief
Voting for this yearâs election will take place on October 21. In the spirit of the election, the Other Press asked the students of Douglas College what made them decide who they will be casting their ballots for in the 2019 federal election.
We also asked students about whether they knew what âstrategic votingâ is and if it has influenced their decision at all. Strategical or tactical voting is a term used to describe a voting method with an election with more than two parties, in which someone supports a candidate from one of the leading parties more than their actual preferred candidateâin hopes of preventing a specific candidate from winning.
Among the college community, the most attributed reason was the partyâs platform. Issues like taxation, immigration policies, and climate change were all things students mentioned in terms of what contributed to their decisions.
âWhat they stand for. For me, it was climate change because weâre going to be living in that,â said Shealin, a Stagecraft major at the college. We also asked her about strategic voting, and if that had any impact on the choice. âWell my parents are trying to get me to vote for that, because they were saying that the vote that you want is pretty much throwing away your vote,â she said.
Other students were concerned with issues other than climate change and taxes. âPlans for budget, bit on immigration, the relations with China,â said Charlie, a Business major.
Some other students also said they didnât know who they were voting for, or that they werenât going to vote at all because they either didnât connect to any parties or didnât feel informed enough to make a decision.
âI decided not to [vote] because I donât like any of the parties,â said Jake, an English major.
EJ, a Business major, also explained his choice to not vote in this yearâs election. âI donât know anythingâI donât follow it so Iâm not voting,â he said.
A couple students we asked said their decision was influenced by their family.
âI voted, but I donât know. Probably what my parents decided,â said Eden, a Sports Science major. When asked about strategic voting, he also said that it has influenced his choice in the past. âIt did influence me when I was in the UK, but Iâve not had a chance to do it here.â
A group of general studies students also attributed family and other economical factors for how they decide to vote for people.
âHow much [âŚ] I have to pay for gas,â said General Studies major, Sienna, about how she would decide who to vote for. She also said she knew what strategic voting is, but it didnât influence the decision.
The students we talked to either were voting for the same party as their family, voting for the party whose platform they agreed with most, or just werenât planning on voting at all. Many also knew what strategic voting is but didnât say it influenced their decision. The 2019 election may be one of the closest Canada has ever had. By the time this paper has hit the stands, Canada will already have a new Prime Minister.
