On-campus voting returns for N.B. election
Polling stations at 14 post-secondary campuses open a week before Oct. 21 election
Students at post-secondary schools in New Brunswick will be able to vote in the upcoming provincial election at polls on campus.
Elections NB confirmed that on-campus voting will resume at 14 post-secondary schools for the upcoming election scheduled for Oct. 21.
"They're coming back. They're part of our regular offerings to increase accessibility of voting, particularly for the campus communities," said chief electoral officer Kim Poffenroth.
Polls will be open on university and community college campuses from Oct. 15 to 18, depending on the size of the campus. Some locations will be open for a single day and others will be open for four days.
Lori Turnbull, a professor in the faculty of management at Dalhousie University, thinks on-campus polls are important for voters now and in their future.
"If a person doesn't vote in their first election, it makes it less likely that they're going to vote later in life. If you take that opportunity the first time, it helps to build the habit of being a lifelong voter," said Turnbull.
Turnbull said accessibility and convenience are also important for voters trying to "track down" polling stations for the first time.
"If there aren't polls on campus, then it's up to the student to try to track down where they're supposed to vote and leave campus to do that, which, depending on where the polling station is, may be really inconvenient," said Turnbull.
Poffenroth also understands the importance of the first vote and how it builds the habit for the future.
"Once somebody votes, then it initiates the habit of voting and they become lifelong voters," she said.
14 campuses around the province
Elections NB said these 14 campuses will have polling stations:
- UNB Fredericton and Saint John.
- Université de Moncton, Edmundston and Shippagan.
- Mount Allison University.
- St. Thomas University.
- Crandall University.
- CCNB Dieppe, Edmundston and Shippagan.
- NBCC Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John.
Drashtant Varma, president of the UNB Fredericton Student Union, said having on-campus polls is a great opportunity for students.
"In terms of accessibility alone, students, of course, not all of them have vehicles or an easy means of transportation to get around to polling stations," said Varma.
Varma, along with representatives from other student unions in the province, has been working with Elections NB to facilitate the program. He said he "would love to see classmates voting."
"You know, they have the right to do so, why shouldn't they do so?"
Lucy Rae, vice-president of external affairs for the Mount Allison Students Union, said her group is excited about having a polling station.
She said having on-campus polls gives students "the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote."
Poffenroth said polls on campuses will have "special abilities," meaning they will allow students to vote in the riding they currently live in while at school or their home riding elsewhere in the province.
For out-of-province students to vote in the election, they will have to have been ordinarily resident somewhere in New Brunswick for at least 40 days before the election.
On-campus polls will be open to students, faculty and staff, but not the general public.
No polls in 2020
The on-campus program began during the 2010 provincial election, which saw six campuses cast a total of 2,665 votes, according to Elections NB.
The most recent on-campus provincial election voting was in 2018 where 18 campuses had polls. More than 3,400 ballots were cast — a 19 per cent increase from 2014 — according to the 2018 Chief Electoral Officer Report.
On-campus voting has seen increased turnout every election except for 2020, when Elections NB didn't run the program because of timing and logistical challenges caused by the snap election.
"The only reason we didn't do [on-campus voting] in 2020 was because it was an unscheduled event that happened rather quickly. It was not actually during the school year and there are a lot of campuses where people weren't on campus due to the pandemic," said Poffenroth.
She said the program is part of their "regular offerings to the electorate in order to increase accessibility."
Turnbull said it's "unfortunate" the program didn't run in 2020. She said it makes it less likely that some "younger voters will show up" and in turn, less likely that political parties will reach out to students.
Varma said many students were "not pleased" when on-campus voting was not available in 2020. He said he is planning to vote for the first time this fall.
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