Strengthening Canadian Democracy

Strengthening Canadian Democracy choicesVol. 9, no. 7 August 2003 ISSN 0711-0677 www.irpp.org From Enumeration to the National Register of Electors An Account and an Evaluation Jerome H. Black ounded in 1972, the Institute for Research on Public Policy is an independent, national, F nonprofit organization. IRPP seeks to improve public policy in Canada by generating research, providing insight and sparking debate that will contribute to the public policy decision-making process and strengthen the quality of the public policy decisions made by Canadian governments, citizens, institutions and organizations. IRPP's independence is assured by an endowment fund, to which federal and provincial governments and the private sector have contributed. ondé en 1972, l’Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (IRPP) est un organisme F canadien, indépendant et sans but lucratif. Jerome H. Black teaches political science at L’IRPP cherche à améliorer les politiques publiques McGill University. Over the years, he has canadiennes en encourageant la recherche, en mettant published in the areas of women and politics, the political participation and representation de l’avant de nouvelles perspectives et en suscitant des of ethnoracial minorities, Canadian débats qui contribueront au processus décisionnel en immigration and refugee policy, strategic matière de politiques publiques et qui rehausseront la voting, and voter turnout. qualité des décisions que prennent les gouvernements, This publication was produced under the les citoyens, les institutions et les organismes direction of André Blais, Professor, Université canadiens. de Montréal; Paul Howe, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of L’indépendance de l’IRPP est assurée par un fonds de New Brunswick; and Richard Johnston, dotation, auquel ont souscrit le gouvernement fédéral, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia. Art direction les gouvernements provinciaux et le secteur privé. was by Schumacher Design, and printing was by AGL Graphiques. Copyright belongs to IRPP. To order or request permission to reprint, contact: IRPP 1470 Peel Street, suite 200 Montreal, Quebec H3A 1T1 Telephone: 514-985-2461 Fax: 514-985-2559 E-mail: [email protected] All Choices and Policy Matters are available for download at www.irpp.org The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of IRPP or its Board of Directors. Strengthening Canadian Democracy / Renforcer la démocratie canadienne Research Directeur / Directrice de recherche Geneviève Bouchard ince the 1960s, increased levels of education and changing social values S have prompted calls for increased democratic participation, both in Canada and internationally. Some modest reforms have been implemented in this country, but for the most part the avenues provided for public participation lag behind the demand. The Table of Contents Strengthening Canadian Democracy research program explores some of the democratic 2 Editors’ Note lacunae in Canada's political system. In pro- 3 Introduction posing reforms, the focus is on how the legit- 6 Part 1: Replacing Enumeration with a Permanent List imacy of our system of government can be 7 The Backdrop to Change: The White Paper, Two Reports, and strengthened before disengagement from pol- the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party itics and public alienation accelerate unduly. Financing 9 Putting Elections Canada into the Picture epuis les années 1960, le relèvement 13 The Politics of Change du niveau d'éducation et l'évolution D des valeurs sociales ont suscité au 15 Number of Options on the Table: One Canada comme ailleurs des appels en faveur 16 Participation and Participation Inequality: Limited Attention d'une participation démocratique élargie. Si 18 Part 2: The Impact on Participation quelques modestes réformes ont été mises en 19 Official Turnout in 1984–2000 œuvre dans notre pays, les mesures envi- sagées pour étendre cette participation restent 21 Coverage and Eligibility in 1984–2000 largement insuffisantes au regard de la 23 Turnout and Eligibility demande exprimée. Ce programme de 23 The 2000 Election recherche examine certaines des lacunes 29 The Impact on Participation démocratiques du système canadien et pro- 32 The Impact on Participation Inequality pose des réformes qui amélioreraient la participation publique, s'intéressant par le fait 33 Conclusion même aux moyens d'affermir la légitimité de 37 Notes notre système de gouvernement pour contrer le désengagement de plus en plus marqué de la population vis-à-vis de la politique. 1 Editors’ Note hen the IRPP published the first paper in Again, this takes us back to the beginning of the SCD the Strengthening Canadian Democracy series, Richard Johnston’s lead-off piece (“Canadian (SCD) series in September 2000, our open- W Elections at the Millennium,” Choices, 6, no. 6, ing observation was that Canada’s political institu- September 2000), which pointed to declining voter tions have stood largely unaltered since their creation turnout over the past decade as an indicator that all and might benefit from some critical appraisal. One is not well with Canadian politics at the millennium. important exception to this institutional inertia is the But whereas Johnston’s analysis focused on the method used to register voters for elections. The tra- shortcomings of Canada’s party and electoral sys- ditional approach in Canada was door-to-door enu- tems, Black’s focuses on the significance of a new meration carried out just before an election. In 1997 registration system that places a greater burden on this approach was abandoned in favour of a perma- voters to ensure that they are properly registered. nent voters list, formally known as the National Black also enters another distinct area of investi- Register of Electors. Regularly updated with informa- gation, inequalities in voter participation across tion from a variety of government data sources, the demographic groups, focusing in particular on age permanent list is now used to generate the prelimi- and income differentials in turnout. Again, this is ter- nary list of electors when an election is called, with rain explored in an earlier SCD piece, from a different further adjustments and updates undertaken through- vantage point. Henry Milner (“Civic Literacy in out the campaign period. Comparative Context: Why Canadians Should Be If the new registration regime was put in place Concerned,” Policy Matters, 2, no 2, July 2001) high- without much fanfare, it has since become the focus lighted the importance of inequalities in “civic litera- of considerable public attention. Concerns were raised cy” to disparities in political participation. Black’s during the 2000 federal election about flaws in the analysis again draws our attention to administrative new system that left would-be voters unregistered and barriers: certain groups, already disadvantaged in one uncertain about the necessary remedial measures. way or another, are less likely than others to find Similar concerns were voiced during the 1999 cam- themselves on the permanent voters list, and conse- paign in Ontario, which used the National Register to quently face greater hurdles to voting in elections. To generate the preliminary list of electors for its elec- what extent does this exacerbate participation tion. The province, along with others, now maintains inequalities? its own permanent list. The answers Black provides to this and other ques- These concerns are based largely on anecdotal evi- tions are persuasive and compelling. He draws on his dence. Jerome H. Black’s contribution in this issue of findings to recommend a variety of measures, parallel Choices represents a systematic and rigorous investiga- with the efforts that Elections Canada has been mak- tion, providing both an account and an evaluation of ing to shore up the new system, to ensure that the the switch from enumeration to a permanent voters list. National Register of Electors functions effectively in The account outlines the conditions that created the future, particularly in facilitating robust and momentum for change and the particular alignment broad-based voter participation, an important objec- of forces that carried the day. In addition to shedding tive for all who hope to see democracy rejuvenated in light on the motivations behind the change in regis- this country. tration regimes, the analysis provides a framework for examining the preconditions for other reforms to André Blais, Université de Montréal Canada’s political institutions, highlighting the sig- Paul Howe, University of New Brunswick nificant hurdles that must be overcome in bringing Richard Johnston, University of British Columbia about institutional overhaul. In his evaluation of the new approach to voter registration, Black focuses on one fundamental dimension — the impact on electoral participation. 2 IRPP Choices, Vol. 9, no. 7, August 2003 Vol. IRPP Choices, From Enumeration to the National Register of Electors: An Account and an Evaluation Jerome H. Black Introduction s with most processes designed to regulate aspects of political life, the decision to estab- A lish a particular voter registration regime entails making significant choices. In one sense, the task can be portrayed as a mechanical endeavour, the need to select from among alternative methods, each of which strikes a different balance between guaran- teeing that qualified citizens have unimpeded access to the

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