By Adam Brazeau
CORNWALL, Ontario – John Voet exercised his namesake on the weekend, casting a ballot as advanced polling stations opened across Cornwall and SDG.
The 66-year-old Williamstown resident’s vision of a better Ontario starts at the ballot box.
Voet took advantage of advance polls Sunday, which opened across the province on June 1 and run until June 6, at the returning office located at 902 Second Street West.
Voting at every election has been a tradition of his for 48 years. The opportunity to have a say about who wins the 41st Ontario General Election wasn’t taken lightly.
“It’s a democracy. It’s a secret vote. It’s a right that you have to maintain because you will lose it and that would be a terrible loss,” said Voet.
Voting for the June 12 provincial election was even more satisfying since he didn’t feel left in the dark during the process. Voet picked his politician with assistive voting technology, specifically an audio tactile interface (ATI). He used a keypad equipped with Braille, as he followed instructions through a pair of headphones.
“It worked ablsolutely wonderful – you just follow the voice,” he said. “Normally, I would’ve either needed people to come to my house or use handheld magnifiers and lighting devices and it’s not easy to get that little ‘X’ in the circle. This is total independence.”
He doesn’t see a valid excuse for not casting a ballot, but isn’t surprised when there’s low voter turnout.
“There are many reasons why voters are few and far between – of course there’s the generational changes and commitments – I think politicians could pay more attention to the peoples’ needs and what they’re up to,” said Voet.
For more information, visit Elections Ontario’s website www.wemakevotingeasy.ca.