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Survey of Electors Following the 42nd General Election

6. Voting in the General Election

Most respondents reported that they voted in the general election, with all but a handful of voters having voted at polling stations either during an advance poll, or on election day. Of those respondents who did not vote, the most-cited reasons were either schedule conflicts or being away for travel.

6.1 Self-declared Voter Participation

Overall, nine-in-ten (90%) respondents stated that they had voted in the October 19, 2015, federal general election.Footnote 17 Differences were observed for Aboriginal electors, younger adults and electors with a disability (Figure 6.1). This result reflects an increase in reported voter turnout from the 2008 (80% voter turnout) and 2011 (84% voter turnout) general elections.

Figure 6.1: Voters' Turnout by Demographic Subgroups

Figure 6.1: Voters' Turnout by Demographic Subgroups
Text description of "Voters' Turnout by Demographic Subgroups"

Base: Electors aware of the 42nd federal general election.

  • Aboriginal Electors: Aboriginal participation in the 2015 election was substantially lower (81%) than that for non-Aboriginal respondents (91%). However, it represents a strong improvement over the past elections. In 2008, only half (54%) of Aboriginal electors cast their ballots. This proportion grew in 2011, with sixty-seven percent (67%) of Aboriginal electors who voted.
  • Age: Although over four-fifths (81%) of young adults voted in the 2015 election, this rate was still lower than that for older adults (93%).
  • Electors with a Disability: Electors with a disability were less likely than electors without a disability to vote in the 2015 election (85%, compared with 92%).
  • Income: Household income was found to be linked to the propensity to vote. Lower-income (<$40k) households reported a lower voting rate (82%), compared with respondents living in middle- ($40k–$80k) and higher-income (>$80k) households (91% and 93%, respectively).

There was a high degree of correlation between voting in the 42nd general election and voting in the 41st general election, in 2011. In fact, more than three-quarters of respondents (77%) voted in both elections (Table 6.1). There were no significant differences among subgroups, except for young electors and Aboriginal electors living on a reserve.

Table 6.1: Participation in the 2015 and 2011 Federal General Elections
Q38: Did you vote in the October 19 federal election? Q10: Did you vote in the previous federal general election? Overall (n=2795)
Yes No
Yes 77% 14% 90%
No 3% 7% 10%

Base: Electors aware of the 42nd federal general election.

  • Aboriginal Electors: Aboriginal electors living on a reserve were less likely to state that they voted in the previous federal general election, in 2011, (56%) than Aboriginal electors living off-reserve (73%).
  • Age: Young adults (aged 22 to 34) were significantly more likely to have reported that they did not vote in the 2011 general election than adults aged 35 or older (71%, versus 90%).Footnote 18

6.2 Methods of Voting

Almost all respondents indicated that they had voted at a polling station, either on election day itself (73%) or at an advance poll on October 9, 10, 11 or 12 (25%) (Table 6.2). Since 2008, there has been a marked decrease in the proportion of voters who voted at a polling station on election day, passing from eighty-eight percent (88%) in 2008 to eighty percent (80%) in 2011. On the other hand, the proportion of voters who used an advance polling station increased by fourteen percentage points, going from eleven (11%) percent in 2008 to twenty-five percent (25%) in 2015. Use of the option of voting at the local Elections Canada office was similar in 2015 (1%) and 2011 (2%).

Table 6.2: Voting Method
Q40: Which method did you use to vote? Total
(n=2,511)
At the polling station on election day, October 19 73%
At the advance polling station (or advance polls) on October 9, 10, 11 or 12 25%
At a local Elections Canada office 1%
By mail <1%
At home (for electors with disabilities) <1%
Other <1%
Don't know/Refusal <1%

Base: Voters only.

  • Aboriginal Electors: Aboriginal voters living on a reserve were significantly more likely to report that they voted at the polling station on election day (90%) than Aboriginal voters who are not living on a reserve (75%). On the other hand, Aboriginal voters who are not living on a reserve were more likely to have voted at the advance polling station (24%) than those living on a reserve (8%).

6.3 Reasons for Not Voting

The 2015 survey reveals similar results, with forty-eight percent (48%) of respondents identifying a reason that can be categorized under everyday-life issues (Table 6.3). This includes one-quarter (25%) who said that it was because they were too busy, had family obligations, or had a conflict with work or another schedule. In 2008Footnote 19 and 2011, a similar proportion (48% and 52%, respectively) related everyday-life issues as a reason why they did not vote.Footnote 20

In 2011 and 2015, political issues were mentioned by 37% of non-voters, the most-cited reason being that they were not interested in politics (9% for both yearsFootnote 21). A similar proportion related to political issues was observed in 2008; 38% of non-voters' responses could be categorized in this group, and 10% cited lack of or no interest in politics/apathy as their main reason.

In 2015, administrative or electoral-process issues were mentioned by 11% of non-voters. This represents a slight but not statistically significant increase over 2008 (8%) and 2011 (7%). Problems related to proving identity were mentioned by only a handful of non-voting respondents, with one percent (1%) indicating that they were missing the identification needed to prove their identity when registering, and one percent (1%) indicating that they were missing the identification needed to prove their identity when voting. Similar proportions related to identification requirements when voting and registering were observed in 2008 (1% for both responses) and in 2011 (fewer than 1% of non-voters mentioned having no identification documents when voting, and 1% mentioned not having identification documents when registering).Footnote 22

Table 6.3: Reasons for Not Voting
Q39: What is the main reason you did not vote? 2015
(n=283)
2011
(n=493)
2008
(n=552)
Everyday-life Issues 48% 52% 48%
  Too busy / Family obligations / Conflicting work or other schedule 25% 26% 21%
  Out of town or away from home 15% 17% 16%
  Own illness or disability 5% 7% 6%
  Forgot to vote 1% 2% 1%
  Other everyday-life issuesFootnote 23 <1% <1% 2%
Political Issues 37% 37% 38%
  Felt voting would not make a differenceFootnote 24 9% 7% 8%
  Not interested in politics 9% 9% 10%
  Didn't like candidates, party leaders, or campaign issues/didn't know who to vote for 10% 4%Footnote 25 9%
  Lack of information about campaign issues and parties' positionsFootnote 26 7% 7% 4%
  Related to government, political parties, or politicians (in general) 2% 7% 2%
  Political beliefs (including I don't vote/I don't want to vote) 1% 2% 4%
  Administrative or Electoral-process Issues 11% 7% 8%
  Not on voters list / Registration problems 3% 3% 1%
  Transportation problems / Polling station too far from home 2% 2% 2%
  Lines were too long 2% - -
  Lack of information about the voting process (e.g., when/where to vote) 1% 1% <1%
  Problems with ID requirements (i.e., missing ID to prove identity when registering) 1% <1% 1%
  Problems with ID requirements (i.e., missing ID to prove identity when voting) 1% 1% 1%
  No VIC/Lost VIC 1% - 2%
  Problems related to voting (including requirements and accessibility) <1% <1% -
  Moved/Changed address - - 1%
Other (including religious beliefs) 3% 3% 3%
Don't know/Refusal 1% 1% 1%

Note: Figures may not add up due to rounding.

Base: Electors who did not vote.

  • Age: A significantly higher proportion of young adults (aged 18 to 34) mentioned being too busy as their main reason for not voting, compared with adults aged 35 or older (31%, compared with 17%). However, being too busy was still the reason most cited by older electors who did not vote.
  • Income: Electors from higher-income (>$80k) households were found to be more likely to mention being out of town or away from home (29%) as the main reason for not voting, compared with middle- ($40k–$80k) and lower-income (<$40k) households (9% and 10%, respectively). The reason for not voting most cited by lower-income households was being too busy (28%).

Footnote 17 Please see comments regarding variations in self-reported voter turnout in section 2.3.

Footnote 18 Since one third of the respondents who identified themselves as young adults were not of voting age during the previous general election, this finding is based on young adults who were of voting age in 2011 (currently between 22 and 34 years old).

Footnote 19 In the 2008 survey, respondents could provide multiple responses. To compare those results with 2011 and 2015, only the first mention was considered.

Footnote 20 Changes to the categories of reasons for not voting from the 2008 and 2011 survey results were made to reflect the new categorization created from 2015 responses. Therefore, those results are slightly different from those published in the 2008 and 2011 survey reports.

Footnote 21 In 2011, this reason was called "Lack of interest/Apathy."

Footnote 22 It is difficult to draw a comparison with the results of the 2011 or 2008 survey, since surveyors were presented with a different set of options to code respondents' answers.

Footnote 23 This reason included the following: 2008 (something came up/had other things to do and turned attention elsewhere), 2011 (turned attention elsewhere), and 2015 (personal reasons).

Footnote 24 This reason was coded as "meaningless of vote" and "cynicism" in 2008 and 2011.

Footnote 25 This reason was coded as "related to campaign issues, lack of competition and related to candidates" in 2011, but the same code was used in 2008 and 2015.

Footnote 26 This reason was coded as "lack of knowledge/information" in 2008 and "lack of information" in 2011.