The remnants of the pandemic, the lack of a rallying issue, and disillusionment in the base of traditional parties could mean another election of low voter turnout, say some political scientists. Federal voter turnout reached all-time highs exceeding 79 percent when John Diefenbaker was prime minister, but it hasn’t exceeded 70 percent since 1993. Geoffrey Hale, a political science professor at the University of Lethbridge, sees no indication that that will change this time around. “Overall voter engagement data appears relatively normal: about a quarter of electorate engaged, and a larger plurality watching the spectacle, such as it is, in passing, and the remaining third largely disengaged as usual,” Hale said in an interview. “The low turnout in Nova Scotia’s recent provincial election suggests that calling an election ‘just because you can’ doesn’t necessarily mean the voters will show up in droves.” Roughly just 55 percent of Nova Scotians participated …
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