What barriers exist to voting and what can City do to eliminate these barriers and provide equitable access?
How can we increase voter turnout, particularly for youth voters and marginalized communities?
Project Description: Voter turnout in municipal elections has traditionally been low despite the local level of government impacting the lives of Canadians more directly than any other level of government. In the 2018 municipal election, voter turnout for eligible voters in Hamilton overall was 38%. Turnout varied by ward, with some areas of the City reporting rates as low as 31% and others reporting rates above 40%. Research in other municipalities has indicated that there is a connection between low voter turnout and demographic characteristics such as immigrant status, visible minority, age, income, and homeownership. Based on our understanding and review of previous voter turnout rates, ward profiles, and demographics in the City, it is possible that a similar correlation exists in Hamilton.
Under the Municipal Elections Act, the City Clerk is responsible for ensuring that elections are fair and accessible to all voters. In advance of the 2022 Municipal Election, the City wants to ensure that we are doing all we can to meet this obligation and to provide our Citizens with access to vote. To meet this goal, we are looking to better understand the barriers to participation faced by our community and want to put measures in place to enhance accessibility for all eligible voters in the City. To support this, we are looking for CityLAB students to assist with analyzing demographics, engaging directly with the community to get feedback and ideas, and to provide creative and innovative suggestions to the City on what we can do to improve access and encourage participation in the next municipal election.
City Staff: Aine Leadbetter, Manager, Election and Print/Mail, City of Hamilton
Conor Flood, Elections Coordinator, City of Hamilton
Deliverables: Primary Research (i.e. analyzing demographics, engaging directly with the community), Secondary Research (i.e. review of the literature and finding information from books and online), Other (Proving creative and innovative set of reccomendations)
Project Start Date/ Availability: Fall 2021 (September - December)
Location: City-Wide
City Strategy Priority: Community Engagement & Participation, Our People & Performance
