The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) has launched the Get Out the Vote campaign ahead of the federal election on September 20. CASA is launching the non-partisan campaign, which aims to enable students to make an informed vote, alongside 24 student associations nationwide, including the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS).
CCSS external executive Puneet Kaur says the CCSS may provide basic party promises to students in case they don’t know who they want to vote for, but much of the time “they know which party is good for them,” she says. However, she still says each student should go through each party’s platform.
“Each vote counts,” she says. “Every individual has their own priorities. There are different governments and different parties at the moment; just go to the plan and check which party’s promises matches with your own priorities. [Students] must vote, because they have an opportunity to choose what they want.”
The CCSS will have a table at Camfest—happening on September 7, 8, 9, and 10 on both campuses—for the Get Out the Vote campaign. Online, Kaur says the CCSS is looking into a presence on TikTok this year as well as educating students about mail-in voting.
“This year, we don’t have on-campus voting,” she says.
CASA chairperson Marley Gillies, a political science student at the University of Calgary, says the barriers facing students when it comes to voting are only heightened because of the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are hoping to spread information through our campaign,” says Gillies. “There’s already lots of challenges that students face, so we are committed to ensuring that all students are able to vote.”
Gillies says that students have barriers to voting that come from two common situations: moving—so providing proof of current address may be difficult—and being at school a lot.
“Students have, often, varying circumstances,” says Gillies. “They’re changing their address every year or so, [and] their access to voting stations might not be as available because they’re on campus for so many hours a day.”
CASA is aiming to break down those barriers, says Gillies, and part of doing that is transitioning to mail-in voting, especially in a pandemic.
“Mail-in is accessible for everyone,” she says. “Students have to apply for this before September 14, and then will just send in their ballots. It’s the best alternative to the vote on campus program.”
Students can visit getoutthevote.ca or elections.ca to register to vote by mail.
Camosun students pay $0.45 per student per month to be CASA members.