AGAR: Do non-voters have any right to complain?

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So, you aren’t voting?

I realize that the crossover of people who don’t vote and the people who read the paper is probably not huge, but I want to address those who do not vote.

The usual argument is that if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain, but I disagree. Everyone has a right to an opinion and the right to complain about anything they want to complain about.

Citizens retain their rights no matter their voting record. I retain my right to not care in the least what a non-voter thinks of the state of the nation or the city. I don’t need to listen to you.

Nothing noble about not voting

The first group that baffles me is the journalists who don’t vote. They somehow think they are being noble and non-partisan by not voting.

One reason that’s ridiculous is that, given they are very well-informed, there is no way they don’t know who they would vote for. Even C-3PO had an opinion— and he is a machine.

The other reason is that they are citizens first and journalists second. Do your duty and then your job.

If you are a woman who doesn’t vote, the women of 1917 are calling and they want to have a word. Here is what they will tell you:

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, on Jan. 1, 1834, the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (now Quebec) passed an election act including a clause restricting voting by women, supposedly to protect them from “dangerous conditions” at polling stations.

At least seven women voted in the 1844 election in Canada West (now Ontario). This was the first recorded instance of women violating common law tradition by voting in the province.

On Oct. 18, 1929, the Imperial Privy Council ruled that women were legally “persons” and therefore could hold seats in the Senate.

Status Indians received the right to vote in federal elections — no longer losing their status or treaty rights in the process — in 1960.

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Don’t take the system for granted

The right to vote was hard won from the time power was wrested away from the king to the time women were recognized as full persons and citizens, along with the rights of minorities who initially could not vote.

Those rights were won through the political process, yet they are things we take for granted today. Not voting is the ultimate expression of taking the system for granted, believing you can never lose your rights.

Hard-won rights can be taken away and have been in stunningly short order in countries around the world. At least 15 countries do not allow voting at all today.

Or does not voting mean that you think everything is OK?

Are you afraid to ride public transit? Are you concerned about public drug use, crime and the general decline of a city? Or do you think taxes went up too much or not enough to cover the services you want?

And what about those services? Do you count on some? What if they were to go away? Too bad if a candidate wins and removes or downgrades those services and you sat on your sofa.

Too much work studying up? Who needs you?

I am sorry when voter turnout is low, but I am happy not to have to compete at the ballot box with lazy, uninformed people.

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