Seniors' advocate calls decision not to print voter cards for N.S. election short-sighted

A group advocating for seniors believes Nova Scotia's elections agency has made a mistake by opting not to mail out voter information cards in the current provincial campaign.

CARP — the  Canadian Association of Retired Persons — calls the move short-sighted and argues it risks excluding a key demographic from the voting process.

The association said many seniors don't use the internet regularly and rely on the postal service for voting information, adding Elections Nova Scotia's decision leaves older voters at a unique disadvantage.

"[Seniors] don't do social media, they don't look on the internet for this kind of information," spokesman Bill VanGorder said Friday in an interview.

The provincial elections agency announced Thursday it would not send voter information cards in the mail this election due to a potential strike by Canada Post workers.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has announced its rural and urban mail carriers voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action if there is no progress in negotiations. The union will be in a legal strike position as of Sunday, but no notice of strike action  has been served so far.

Liberals criticize move 

Nova Scotia Liberal Party Leader Zach Churchill also criticized the agency's decision, saying the lack of mailed cards will make voting difficult for seniors and those with poor or non-existent internet connections.

In a Friday email sent to Dorothy Rice, Nova Scotia's chief electoral officer, Churchill said the move "carries significant negative consequences for voter engagement and our democratic process."

In an interview with CBC News, Churchill blamed the snap election call. 

"If we have an election, people should have their voter information card sent to them. But the fact is … this election is not needed," he said on Saturday. 

Tara Miller, campaign co-chair for the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, said Churchill is attacking the independent agency. 

"No political party in Nova Scotia should be criticizing a non-partisan body like Elections Nova Scotia, particularly during an election," she said in an interview Saturday. "They are entitled to make decisions without any political interference."

Getting out the vote 

Miller said all parties have the same tools available to try to get out the vote even if there are no voter information cards. 

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the situation is unfortunate, but party candidates will continue knocking on as many doors as possible to win voters. 

"I think that the job of all of us who are involved in this election ecosystem is to remind voters that they don't need those cards," said Chender at an event on Friday.  

Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds said Nova Scotians are experiencing election fatigue. He said a lack of voter information cards could be another blow to turnout. 

"I expect there will be a record-low voter turnout in this election," he said in an interview on Saturday. 

An Elections Nova Scotia report released after Nova Scotia's 2021 provincial election estimated there were about 215,000 registered voters who were over 65, making up 28 per cent of electors in the province. The same report said roughly 148,000 people in this group cast a ballot, and accounted for 35 per cent of total voters.

Many of the issues dominating the current campaign include health care, housing and the cost of living. All are issues that resonate with older voters.

VanGorder said he's already heard five complaints from seniors concerned about where to find voting information. While the number seems small at first glance, he said to hear complaints that quickly from a demographic that otherwise doesn't always notice this kind of news is significant.

Elections Nova Scotia spokesperson Naomi Shelton said the decision not to send voter information cards this year was difficult, but noted there are other ways for voters to find out where to cast their ballots, including finding polling locations via the agency's website or calling a phone line for polling information.

The elections agency also said it has an awareness campaign in the works to alert "underserved" voters about how they can vote on Nov. 26.

While VanGorder said he is glad to hear the elections agency is doing the work to get the message out to seniors, he said any advertising over radio, television or print media must be "fair and strong and regular so people are able to get the message."

He also urged the elections agency to get in touch with major organizations serving seniors in the province and get them involved in circulating information about where to vote.