Just a little bit about Canadian politics. Or, something from a while I did an editorial on.
Is taking the right to vote infringing a citizen's rights? You bet it is. It's taking away a citizen's right to vote justified by the fact that some of the population doesn't have the understanding that is necessary for them to make an informed vote? Yeah, it's still taking away a person's rights, as set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights. Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposed a bill at the House of Commons that would change Canada's election laws. Under the legislation, anyone who would want to vote in Canada would have to pass a "voter competency test" in order to be able to vote. The test would have multiple choice questions, placed at each polling station. Only the citizens who pass the test would be able to vote. The test itself would have questions pertaining to recent Canadian politics, and the whole test would be for sorting out "who knows enough to cast a responsible vote". But, no matter how you look at it, it's taking the vote away from citizens, separating them based on how much they know about current political events.
But is it really a bad thing? It's true that some Canadians have no real understanding of Canadian politics, but some just don't care. Some hardly care as it is, but still vote anyways. A test that would require you to have some understanding of current politics would reduce the already small amount of people voting (59% of Canadians) to a much lower standing. People would find it cumbersome and silly to take a test in order to be able to vote. Another problem that arises because of the test is the types of questions that should be on it. How deeply should someone know current politics? The questions shouldn't be too hard; someone who watches a syndicated Canadian news network every evening should be able to answer the questions with ease. Informed choices are essential in the best democracy, but democracy's definition is something that allows everyone equal rights, and this separates people.
Some people just don't have the ability to take the time to learn about the current political situation, as the antipoverty group A Better Future pointed out. Imagine this situation; you're a hard working parent of three children. You've just come home from working a ten hour shift at your workplace. It's 10:00 at night, and you're dead tired. Are you going to sleep, or stay up another hour to watch the news? And when the election comes again, when you're asked to take a test to determine your ability to vote, how would you feel about being denied your right to vote because "You don't have a proper understanding of current Canadian politics to be able to make an informed vote"?
I do not support the proposed legislation that requires citizens to pass a voter competency test, with the current set rules in the bill. I think that it would be best if we provide an incentive to have people informed about politics. An extra vote should be implemented to provide incentive for Canadians to vote, provided they answer a question regarding political events correctly. A person should ask the voter a random question from a list that is made by the citizens who are informed about events themselves. If they get the answer wrong, they are only given one ballot, but if they answer correctly, they are given two ballots. Some might say that this upsets the balance that one vote would have, but I don't think so, and here's why: It forces political parties to encourage citizens to become involved. It forces the parties to earn the votes, and it encourages every citizen to stay up that extra hour to learn just a little about what's going on politically in Canada.
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