What's up with this low voter turnout?

Are we just not that into democracy?

Debbie Amaroso is out and Christian Provenzano is in, but fewer than 25,000 people in this city can say they had a hand in picking the city's new mayor, just 40.9 percent of those eligible.

That’s down almost seven percentage points from the 2010 municipal race, and lower than other northeastern Ontario cities, but it’s likely not cause to raise alarm bells over an apathetic populace, says one political science expert.

Voter turnout is a fickle thing, and can depend on factors like the weather and whether or not candidates managed to differentiate themselves on an issue voters feel is important, said Trevor Tchir, a professor at Algoma University who teaches political theory and Canadian politics.

It was likely a combination of both those factors in Monday’s vote, said Tchir.

First off, Monday’s rainy weather was probably a deterrent for people who are busy and are not easily coaxed out to vote at the best of times.

And while there were plenty of issues - job creation, attracting young people back to the city, water quality in the east end - Tchir said it could be argued the mayoral candidates in the Sault didn’t differentiate themselves enough to compel voters to turn out in greater numbers.

“There wasn’t the same kind of clearly different approaches to clear election issues that you get in, say, a federal election sometimes,” said Tchir.

Tchir said an example of that was the 1988 federal race that saw the major parties put forth drastically different approaches to one ‘wedge’ issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Should we be concerned?

Yes, said Tchir, low voter turnout is cause for concern, but no more for Sault Ste. Marie than in other Canadian cities.

Municipal elections traditionally have lower turnout rates than provincial or federal votes.

The Sault also had lower voter turnout than some if its northeastern Ontario neighbours, but Tchir said variances like that can have more to do with weather and candidates’ failure to differentiate than any inherent apathy in the Sault.

Just over 51 percent of Sudbury voters turned out for the municipal election there, while 46.5 percent came out in Timmins.

Torontonians, meanwhile, turned out in comparative droves (60 percent of eligible voters) to pick John Tory as their new mayor.

(PHOTO: Christian Provenzano and Debbie Amaroso are pictured during recent live debates. A political science expert says it can be argued the candidates didn't differentiate themselves enough in the eyes of voters. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)