So we all know that in order to vote in Tuesday’s territorial election, you must be a resident of the NWT and prove that you can vote here. A full list of identification options can be found at the Elections NWT website.
You also need to be 18 years of age on or before Nov. 14. If you’re under that threshold, you can’t vote, but Elections NWT has been giving youth around the territory a chance to take part in the process.
Kids Vote 2023 was announced back in October and is designed to introduce youth to the democratic process of casting a ballot in an election.
Stephen Dunbar, the territory’s chief electoral officer, said this is a new program for this election cycle modeled off a similar program being run by Elections Canada called Choosing Our Mascot.
“It’s all about getting youth engaged and showing them what democracy looks like,” he said. “The objective is to get kids excited about voting.”
It’s aimed toward youth between the ages of five through 12 and gives young voters four candidates to choose from, all with a Northern identity and designed by well-known NWT artist Janet Pacey: Frankie Fox, Charlene Caribou, Bobbie Bear and Pat Ptarmigan. Each candidate has their own platform, just like a candidate on the campaign trail, and it’s up to the students to vote for which campaign speech they like the most.
Just like the real election, the results from the mock election will be counted and released on election night.
A total of 11 schools in nine communities are taking part, said Dunbar.
“We reached out to schools back in May and some got back to us right away, while others said to call back,” said Dunbar. “The evacuation caused a bit of a wrinkle for some communities, but we’re happy with the response we received.”
The Yellowknife schools involved include Range Lake North, Mildred Hall, Ecole Itlo and William McDonald. K’alemi Dene School in Ndilo is also taking part.
Dunbar also said the program was designed to be easy to administer and is scalable to each school.
“It’s a two-page document and we left it up to teachers as to how they wanted to do it,” he said. “They could do a month-long campaign and students could promote it in the school, or maybe they just do something on election day. I have heard from some that it’s being held school-wide and that’s great to hear.”
Voter apathy among young adults has long been an issue when it comes to elections; according to Elections Canada, less than 50 per cent of those between the ages of 18 to 24 cast a ballot in the 2021 federal election.
Dunbar said seeing so many young people not voting is a worry for him.
“I’ve seen studies that show young people losing faith in our democratic system,” he said. “My daughter asks me a lot about voting and I’ve explained to her what it’s all about and why it’s important. That’s why we’ve introduced this concept earlier than Grade 9 and 10 — instead of choosing a government, you’re choosing an animal, but the idea is the same.”
A total of 21 other countries have laws mandating voting, such as Australia. Down under, anyone who doesn’t vote is issued with a fine ranging from $20 for a first offence to a maximum of $180.
Dunbar said mandating voting isn’t something that has ever been talked about.
“It isn’t even a discussion here,” he said. “Australia has a different constitution than we do, so the laws are different.”