Monday, October 5th is the first day of on-campus voting at the University of Guelph. It’s amazing, and I think it’s really cool that students can vote at school for candidates in their home riding. Making voting more accessible to young people? Always a plus in my book! But as I walked through the central plaza on campus today, I was disheartened. There were volunteers standing outside, hocking free cupcakes if you pledged to vote in the federal election.
Do we really need the promise of free food to be persuaded to vote? The student-aged population (namely, youth voters) has never had an extremely large turnout. But cupcakes? You’re trying to get me to vote with baked goods? It seems very childish to me. I’m voting in this election because it’s my right, it’s my country, and it’s my future.
Promising students cupcakes if they pledge to vote seems like a good way to minimize the importance of an election. I also fear that students will check off the first box that they see and drop their ballot in the ballot box. “A cupcake if I put an X down on this card? Sure, I can do that!”
Please take the time to learn about our political parties. Do your research, and know what you’re voting for in this election. I mean, sure, grab a cupcake along the way if you so choose. But please make your vote a meaningful one – this is a federal election, after all.
Emma — The Suburban Aggie
The Suburban Aggie 
Unfortunately something similar often happens in the Czech republic before elections as well… They don´t offer cupcakes, but portions of goulash. We even have a name for it – the (pre-)election goulash 🙂 The parties aim mostly at older people. It´s sad how easily you can buy some people´s vote.
My main concern is that people will now be voting with no thought behind their choices. While not voting is just as detrimental, voting just because you get the cupcake and not because you support a party means that your vote could be hurting – not helping. It seems silly to me to vote because of food – shouldn’t the right and responsibility to vote be enough?
Well, I don´t think there is much difference – not intending to vote and be persuaded (bought) by goulash/cupcakes and intending to vote, maybe being not knowing exactly which party, but be easily persuaded (bought) by goulash/cupcakes. The result is the same. I think it would actually be better if people like this didn´t vote at all, but that´s how it works now.