"Rock the Vote: Saskatoon" Event’s Final Report

The "Rock the Vote: Saskatoon" event was initiated as an action plan idea inspired by the TYPS/Students Commission: Unite and Ignite Conference in Ottawa. In order to make this event possible, a core partnership was established between Unified Minds, The City of Saskatoon, Youth Launch, CRU Youth Wellness Center, Core Neighborhood Youth Co-op, Nutana Collegiate, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan. The event was conceived as a reaction to the many young people who were misinformed, uninformed, or apathetic toward the 2011 Federal Elections. In regard to the population of Saskatoon, one of the most common issues regarding the election among youth and Aboriginal communities was a lack of information.

After much research, many face to face discussions, and series of meetings between a large group of passionate people, the Rock the Vote team identified the issues that participants would be most likely to relate to, and ones that would subsequently incline them to follow through with the entire voting process. The information gathered came from the youth, young adults, and adults from the Unite and Ignite conference and the community. Also, we identified the barriers we faced as individuals, which created common ground for both the organizers and the participants.

Throughout the three weeks of planning for the event, organizers connected to create an efficient, effective and interactive experience aimed at heightening the interest of an intimidating topic – politics. We recognized that the event would be more effective if it incorporated three different learning styles: tactile, auditory, and visual. Also, we recognized the importance of being youth friendly; to that end, we included a music/entertainment component, which added a very social atmosphere to the beautiful spring day.

The "political factory" process that we employed for the event is a six-step process:

The first step: "Genres of Issues" Wall

Participants identified what issues they were passionate about that they perceived as needing improvement within Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Canada. The genres specifically pertained to the roles and responsibilities of the federal government. The purpose of this step was so that participants had ownership of their voice and could engage them directly in the electoral process.

The second step: "The Political Spectrum and You"

Many people don't generally understand what the political spectrum is and when they hear references to right and left wing, they are often unsure of who falls where and who they would relate to most. The participants were able to take a small quiz, facilitated by a content expert/advisor to help them better understand the wording/language of the material, and with the results of the quiz they would find out where they stood in relation to the political spectrum. If participants did not take the quiz, there was also a written breakdown of the spectrum. With the knowledge of where on the political spectrum they fit, individuals were able to identify which political party had beliefs and concerns similar to their own. They were also able to see what Left, Center, and Right ideologies typically believed in. The purpose of this step was to allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of the terminology and to help them better understand democracy.

The third step: "Roles and Responsibilities of the Federal Government"

This step allowed participants to differentiate the roles of the federal government, the provincial government and the municipal government. This process had a content expert/advisor to assist participants in making the connection of services they use and where the funding comes from. The purpose of this step was to allow participants to make personal connections to decisions being made by policy makers in the federal government of Canada.

The fourth step: "Candidates in their Ridings"

During the planning, a concern was raised about people expecting to see the names of the candidates, which they see on TV (mostly, party leaders) on the ballots, when in fact that would not be the case at all. The individuals became familiar with the candidates who could potentially represent them in their riding. This step included a personalization process that allowed participants to know who the candidates were, which riding they represented, which party they represented, and what their platforms were. This step also included material gathered prior to the event and contact information for transportation on Election Day. A large map in this step clearly defined the ridings and the polling stations within them. The purpose of this step was to make a personal connection between the participant and the candidate, thereby empowering the participants through increased accessibility and through a gained opportunity to have their voices be heard.

The fifth step: "Mock Vote/Pretend to Vote Station"

This step included ballots for each riding and allowed individuals to mark their X behind a voting blind; it also featured a real ballot box. The purpose of this step was to show people how easy voting can be once you get past the barriers. It also showed that Jack Layton, Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Gilles Duceppe, and Elizabeth May were not the names that participants would need to be familiar with. More importantly, the participants had a chance to make an informed decision when casting their ballot and would leave feeling prepared to do the same on Election Day.

The sixth step: "Register to Vote"

Originally, we had made arrangements to have a voter registration component to the event although, on short notice, we were denied. This was a struggle that we faced at last minute. The solution was clear; we had two volunteers who were informed about the registration process to answer the questions participants had about the identification they needed

Media Coverage

1. STAR PHOENIX COVERAGE - http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/third_page/story.html?id=cc224830-1d53-412a-b9c6-2f5de1cdf012
2. APTN NEWS COVERAGE (30 minutes in) - http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/04/28/election-2011-youth-panel/
3. GLOBAL SASKATOON COVERAGE - http://www.globalsaskatoon.com/video/index.html?releasePID=D5tUcn2GL_rpgOjziYlQZhC0aLTHJhQE
4. LEADER POST COVERAGE - http://www.leaderpost.com/news/decision-canada/Vote+encourages+youth+participate+federal+election/4707408/story.html
5. NEWS TALK 980 COVERAGE (April 13th halfway in) - http://www.newstalk980.com/shows/meeting-ground/ondemand