Ontario Wants to Register Young People to Vote Before They Can Vote

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Published August 3, 2017 at 4:31 am

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The past few provincial elections in Ontario have had dismal voter turnout numbers. There are of course a number of factors that lead to that conclusion, such as quality of political leaders, candidates, and the presence of important issues come to mind in influencing how tuned in voters are to the election. But sometimes, it may be just a matter of not registering oneself to vote once you turn the age of 18, the legal voting age in Canada.

Let’s face it, registering to vote is not one of those crucial things someone needs to go to Service Ontario for, such as getting a license plate for your car or renewing a health card. At times, most people probably forget that they have to do it themselves when it comes to getting on the provincial or federal voters list. If you’re not even remembering to register to vote when you’re actually of voting age, it’s no wonder that those below the voting age don’t even think about it as they approach the age of 18.

However, there are some election administrative agencies in Canada that are looking into preemptively registering people to vote, perhaps as one method to get young people more interested as well as streamlining the voter registration process. Elections Ontario maintains what is known as the Ontario Register of Future Voters. The register is for 16 and 17 year old Canadian citizens who reside in Ontario. Information from the Ontario Register of Future Voters is automatically transferred to the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario when a person turns 18.

In order to get on the future voters list, one needs to fill out this form and provide a photocopy of identification to mail back to Elections Ontario, and the process for removing yourself from the future voters list is pretty much the same. Either way, if you’re not yet of voting age, but really interested in the political process, at least now there is a way to smooth out getting on the voters list if you’re really want to.

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