NBSA’s Response to No Polling Stations on Campuses for the 2020 Provincial General Election
On Monday, August 17th, 2020, Premier Blaine Higgs called for a snap election in New Brunswick for September 14th, 2020. The New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA) is gearing up for our Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign to ensure that post secondary students in the province are well equipped to exercise their vote. However, the NBSA is disappointed to see that there will be no advanced polling stations on campuses this provincial election. After speaking with ElectionsNB, due to time and financial constraints, having voting stations on campuses was out of the picture.
“Although all of our member institutions are having the majority of their classes online this fall, campuses are still open and not having on-campus polling stations will be a barrier to accessible voting for students in the province,” said NBSA Executive Director, Wasiimah Joomun. “As an organization who strongly believes that students have a strong voice when it comes to our provincial government, the NBSA will be having a GOTV campaign over the next few weeks to get information to our students to ensure voting is as smooth and accessible as possible.”
NBSA’s GOTV campaign seeks to break down the barriers that many students face when participating in elections. Very often, students are first-time voters who are unfamiliar with the voting process and do not know where to turn to have their questions answered. In fact, while attending post-secondary, many students are not located in their home ridings, which creates a natural barrier to voting.
Partnering with ElectionsNB to have voting stations on campus has fared well in the past with alleviating confusion around provincial voting systems. As youth are a prominent demographic of first-time voters, having voting stations on campus eased this process. Indeed, advanced polling stations on campuses not only allowed post secondary students to vote for a different riding that they currently reside in, but also increased voter turnout amongst the younger population.
According to the 2018 Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, the percentage of voters aged 18-24 for 2018 was 50.4% compared to 44.1% in 2014. As further highlighted in the report, more than 7,500 electors voted for a candidate in their home electoral district by casting a special ballot outside of their district, which included postsecondary students who voted on campus. Just over 3,400 ballots were casted at the 18 different campus voting stations, representing a 19% increase over the votes on campuses in the 2014 provincial election.
The NBSA recognizes the barriers that emerge from not having on-campus voting stations this election and how this might impact getting our students to the polls. However, the NBSA is committed to working diligently over the next few weeks to get information out to students to ensure that they are able to exercise their vote and make an informed decision in the 2020 Provincial General Election.