I am drowning in democracy.
Between municipal candidates, school trustee races, forums, profiles, voting information, deadlines and a snap provincial election dropped into the middle of all of it, I have spent the past few weeks trying to keep a lot of moving parts straight.
Haida Gwaii News has no staff and no giant election budget tucked away somewhere. It is mostly me trying to make sure the right information gets to the right people, that candidates have a fair chance to speak and that what we publish is accurate. I care about getting it right because I want you to know what you are voting for. Who you ultimately vote for is entirely up to you.
Voting itself is simple. Being an informed voter is getting harder. There is an enormous amount of information coming at us, and we are not all seeing the same things anymore. Algorithms decide what lands in front of us based largely on what keeps us looking. Rumours move quickly, context disappears and something repeated often enough can start to feel true whether it is or not. Add two elections in seven days and it is easy to understand why people feel overwhelmed.
The best thing I can think to do is make it smaller. Figure out what election is happening and what the people on that ballot would actually be responsible for. Read what the candidates have to say. Ask questions. Come to a forum if you can. Check something that sounds strange before accepting it as fact. You do not need to become an expert in every level of government. You just need enough reliable information to make your own decision.
Our printing schedule does not line up particularly well with either election, so I am trying to fill in those gaps online. Haida Gwaii News will be posting more provincial candidate coverage at haidagwaiinews.com, along with election updates and coverage from the local candidate forums. If you cannot make it to a forum in person, watch online. My goal is simply to make as much useful information as possible available between print editions.
I have watched people across Haida Gwaii put their names forward for public office, write profiles, answer questions and agree to stand in front of their neighbours at community forums. Whatever you think of any individual candidate, putting your name on a ballot takes guts.
The Haida Gwaii Teachers' Association also stepped up to help make those forums possible, covering hall rentals and snacks, with Stephen Querenjung taking on a big part of the work. Without that support, these forums simply would not be happening.
That is the part of democracy I do not mind drowning in: people putting themselves forward, people asking questions, people showing up and people trying to make thoughtful decisions about the place they live.
And after all of that, my ask is pretty simple. Please vote.
Vote because you really believe in a candidate. Vote because you only sort of do. Vote because you want change or because you absolutely do not. Vote to support something. Vote to protest something. Vote because you want the sticker. I do not care why you go. I care that you go.
Not voting is not a protest. It is not a statement. You had a voice and chose not to use it.
On Oct. 17, we vote in the local elections. On Oct. 24, we do it again for the province.
Please use your voice.
Stacey