OCTOBER 15, 2008

       Well, fellow Canadians, looks like we did it again. And by “it” I mean disagreed on who should run the country. While some people are happy with how things went, I always get a kick out of how angry elections make people.

       First, we shouldn’t be surprised at the results of the vote since the psychics – or “pollsters” – knew exactly the outcome and told us what was going to happen a week earlier, essentially rendering the trip to the voting station unnecessary. Why did I have to vote then?

       Second, like millions of others, I was ID’d and quizzed about my identity – a new procedure, thanks to Elections Canada. Not only did this cause lineups to cast a vote, it really is a pointless new rule. Should I have camped out the night before?

       I’ll explain the new ID rule for those rebels that didn’t vote: Upon arrival at the sign-in table, voters were instructing to present ID and immediately state their name and address. This happened moments after presenting a voter registration card and the ID that had the voter’s information on it. (So in the four seconds since handing over the paperwork, Elections Canada thought I might get tripped up and forget the person’s identity they think I’m trying to steal.)

       The polling officers agreed with the “stupid rule”, saying the policy was to prevent identity theft. It’s believed a thief won’t remember the information on the card they just stole or made at home.

       The funniest part of Tuesday night was hearing national broadcasters editorializing to say the election was a waste of time and money and how elected officials responded to the comments. Can you believe none directly responded to the criticism?

       But each election I talk with people and it seems like fewer people are interested in filling out a ballot, and many times the reason is the politics (excuse the expression) behind casting a vote. This time was no different showing the lowest voter turnout in history.

       Should we start placing bets about how the government is going to unintentionally (or is it intentionally?) deter us from participating in the democratic process? Think about that for a second. Are they throwing so many hurdles our way so we don’t want to vote?