Take a Girl to Vote

Nancy B shares:

I took my 8 month old daughter, Joyce, to vote in the advance poll.  It was her first federal election. I think she loved it- she squealed!!

PLEDGE TO TAKE A GIRL TO VOTE

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: girls@equalvoice.ca

This Election will not only be a moment to remember in Canadian history, but a milestone in a girl’s life. 

I will be taking my 9-year-old daughter when I vote tomorrow. She has taken great interest in the process, after hearing about it at home and at school. We have talked about the basic issues and the fact that we have several women candidates in our riding. We also have a provincial by-election coming up after the federal election – and I will take both daughters that day.

-Hilary

I’ll be taking 2 girls with me to vote today!  We have always voted as a family – my husband and me, and our two daughters.  Now in their teens, they are getting increasingly irritated that they can’t vote for themselves.  When the time comes, I know they’ll be there, with their little golf-pencil in hand…and I know they’ll be telling their friends to get out and vote too!

-Shannon

My daughter is just as excited about her first time voting today as I remember she was on her first day of school!  Can’t wait for her to experience this milestone in her life.

-Cheryl

I am taking my daughter, she has had a few opportunities to accompany my husband and I. Its always a great learning experience. And it makes her feel good to know that our voices are being heard!

-Angela

This is my daughter’s first year to be able to vote and I am taking her with me so I can show her the process and let her see how important it is to make an informed decision about voting for the party who is going to make the right decisions for her future as a young women in Canada.

-Sharon

Those women who fought for us…

And those who are fighting today.

E-Day is here at last! Will you be taking a girl to vote?

Where/how to vote. 

How to spread the word about the election.

Send us your E-day pics and stories!

Here are some we’ve received this weekend:

A few days ago my daughter and I had our photographs taken with the statues of the Famous Five on Parliament Hill. Having her accompany me when I vote, is an ideal follow-up to former events in Canada’s history.

-Lorraine

My daughter always wants to go to the polls with me. We have so many elections in the past 10 years of her life that she has had many opertunities to come with me. She has accompanied me before and is always inquisitive about who I vote for and why. I look forward to bring her again on election day.

-Alicya

As a pathfinder leader (division of girl guides), I plan to take my girls to the polling station with me. I also plan on introducing them to Nellie McClung and those women who paved the way for all of us to get the vote. By discussing how many women are running for politics, I hope to show them that women can do anything. In our town, Collingwood, we have the first female mayor in the history of our town!(over 150 yrs) One of our members is not yet a Canadian citizen but I hope after the election, all the girls will take the vote seriously and vote in the future.

-Valerie

We need our young women to grow up confident that their voice matters!

-Stephanie

I will be taking my 8 year old daughter with me to vote.  I want her to know that our voices are important and can be heard.

-Nancy

We have taken our daughter with us for every vote (be it city, provincial or federal) since she was born, and now that she is old enough we are telling her more about the process and why  we should never take for granted our ability to vote.

-Joanna

Yes, I agree.  I will take my 10yr old daughter who is a first year guide to the polls with me.  I will do my best to explain the process and answer any questions she might have.  Thanks for the encouragement.

-Petra

These women have!

My daughter has been telling me for weeks who I should vote for and why (she is only 9 1/2 years old!). I am therefore excited to have her come with me when I go to vote. She has come with me in the past, but this is the very first time she has shown any interest in politics! “Prime Minister Julianna” has a nice ring to it.

-Christina

MY SPOUSE AND I WENT TO THE ADVANCE POLLS WITH ALL OUR FAMILY- 2 OF OUR TEENAGERES WERE VOTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A FEDERAL ELECTION AND THE ELECTION STAFF ACTUALLY CLAPPED FOR THEM AND MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO THANK THEM. OUR TWO YOUNGER DAUGHTERS WERE QUITE IMPRESSED

-Debbie

I will bring my daughter with me to vote. Throughout the election campaign my three children have been asking questions about the process and how an individual decides who to vote for. The revolutions around the world in countries where people do not have a voice have served as a contrast to our discussions about freedom to make choices.

-Norah

I have 2 teenage daughters whom I have brought to many elections.  I agree wholeheartedly that we need to demonstrate to the girls in our lives the power we DO have here in our great country, and emphasize to them the lack of power the women around the world are missing.
-Kim

I think that it’s easily forgotten that women of the early 20th century had to fight hard for the right to vote.  I encourage all women to vote in this election and to share the experience with the young girls in their lives.

-Seija

If young women voted, things would change

Taken from http://www.sweetmama.ca. 

WRITTEN BY: NADINE SILVERTHORNE

How to Raise a Future Voter

silver spoons: discussing the election with kidscanada (Apr.25.11)

On Monday, May 2, we all have a choice to make. Are you going to vote or sit this one out? While there’s no question that as a nation we’re all a bit sick of elections and feel a bit uninspired by the offerings, whether we vote or not sends a message to our kids. Youth votership is at an all-time low and personally, I’d like to see that trend reversed in the future.

Undecided? Some friends of mine developed a social media movement called #momthevote on Twitter andFacebook to specifically engage parents and discuss family issues pertaining to the 41st election. I was lurking for a while, but have waded in and am enjoying talking to parents across the country with different views and lifestyles to understand the issues and our diversity.

One of the subjects frequently being brought up, is how to encourage the youth vote. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. So what can you do to raise a future voter, one that is politically engaged and informed? Here’s what parents shared with me on Facebook (mixed in with my own two cents).

Take your kids to the polls. I have gone behind the voting screen with a baby in a Bjorn on my chest. We make election night about taking a family walk, then line-up together, say hello to our neighbours and reinforce that feeling of community. Ask the poll clerk if your child can be beside you while you vote. This is such a powerful image for kids.

Talk about the leaders and the parties. “For local, provincial and federal we always discuss the candidates in terms of what they ‘stand for’ and what values we share,” says my friend Kevin Durkee. Try to be non-partisan while telling them the names of the leaders and loosely explaining what he or she is about. Kids will often have opinions based on the faces of the leaders, which is funny, because sometimes I think that’s how adults vote too.

Explain the voting process in simple terms. It’s about making a choice. It’s also our civic duty, a right that many people didn’t always have. ”We explain that it’s our duty/right to vote and care about those that “should” care for us,” says Kevin.

Talk about the issues without getting heated. “Explain the issues, try to be neutral, but of course you have a right to explain your views and reasons for them,” suggests grandmother, Lorna Ross. “Kids are so smart, give them a chance and they will make you so proud.”

Don’t just limit conversations to election time. “We talk about political issues at the dinner table 365 days a year,” says political activist and parenting expert Ann Douglas. “You can’t just speak about important issues during election time. You have to keep kids interested and engaged all the time. Of course, there are times when my youngest says, ‘Can’t we have ONE DINNER without talking about politics?’ But if I don’t say anything about politics at a meal, he does. Seriously.”

Encourage kids over age 16 to work at a polling station. At age 19, I spent one 14-hour day registering voters, passing them their ballots and tallying the count at the end of the night. It gave me such a profound respect for our electoral system and for democracy in general. For more information, visit Elections.ca.

Lead by example. I think it’s safe to say that children who see their parents politically active year-round will absorb some of that civic-mindedness. “My daughter is 12 and besides taking her to the polls with me her whole life, I have also taken her to local town hall meetings, lots of protests and demonstrations, and she has seen me serve on our school board and been a fly on the wall …for many politically charged discussions between friends and family,” explains Lorna Ross’s daughter, Jen Green. “We talk about the role of government in our lives quite frequently, and about how lucky we are to be living in Canada.”

“My father was always a campaign manager, so I spent my childhood hanging out at HQ and delivering flyers That worked,” says Julie Cole of Mabel’s Labels.

“I think action speaks louder than words,” says Astrid Kendrick before adding, “Although, that said, my landed immigrant mother who has never voted in a Canadian election (as she isn’t allowed) has pretty much demanded that her four children vote at every election. Any time I’ve considered not voting, I feel like I’m letting her down.”

Other resources:

Marla Good reads Leika Singh’s Making of an Activist (about young activist and philanthropist Craig Kielburger) with her daughter.

Vicky Smallman recommends Equal Voice‘s Take a Girl to Vote campaign.

Kate Sanagan suggests Teach Kids News’s “Your Political Primer to the Canadian Election” written just for kids.

I also found this great info from Elections Nova Scotia that offers talking points according to age group.

What are your tips for raising a voter? How do you discuss the election in your house?

My grandmother was the first female elected Reeve in a township in Ontario in the early 1980s.  Politics is in my blood.

I have taken my children to vote with me at every municipal, provincial and federal election since they have been born.  We talk politics at the breakfast table while reading the paper, and we point out the different election signs around our neighbourhood.  My son is 7 and my daughter is 5 and they can both identify the five major parties and why we are having a federal election now.  I am a political junkie and worked in politics at the provincial level for almost 7 years, so maybe this is overkill, but political engagement is too important to leave to chance.

So many women in so many countries cannot vote.  It is our most important right as a citizen in a democracy – the right to self-determination and representation.

I promise to take my daughter who is 5 with me to the voting station on Monday.  We will be in our Guiding uniforms, she in her pink Sparks outfit and me in my blue Guiders uniform.

-Natalie

The topic of voting has been high on our Brownie Meeting agenda this year.  In the fall we had the privilege of seeing the Civic Election in action.  We were given a tour, shown a voting card, and timed it just right to be there for the closing of the poll which was very exciting!  The girls were given stickers that said “Future Voter”, too!
May 2nd is another Brownie Meeting night and the poll just happens to be in the same building.  I have already asked permission to take all 15 Brownies and 10 Sparks to the poll with me.  It is an excellent way to get the girls excited about their right to vote.  Plus it’s another bonus opportunity to discuss the gender equality issue which we have talked about on the National Day of Action for Violence Against Women (Dec 6) and International Women’s Day.

-Elaun

I pledge to take my daughter and her Brownie unit to experience the power of voting.

-Selena

I hold my Brownie and Spark meetings at the voting station, so I will take my daughters with me. They have been curious about all the signs out in our area.  They are even more curious to know who I vote for.

-Tobbi

Count me in!  My daughter’s a Pathfinder who just completed the “Be a model citizen” module within the program.  She and her unit experienced “first-hand” what it means to be (and become) a citizen of Canada, at Pier 21 in Halifax.  Taking her with me to the poll underscores what she just learned; that voting is not just a right, but an obligation for Canadian citizens.  As Canadian women, we owe it to ourselves and to each other to make our voices heard.  Thanks for such a great suggestion!

-Isabel

We have taken our daughter with us for every vote (be it city, provincial or federal) since she was born, and now that she is old enough we are telling her more about the process and why  we should never take for granted our ability to vote.

-Joanna

My husband and I have always taken our daughters to the polling station.  We treat it as a mini family outing.  The girls see the importance of taking the time to vote and being part of the democratic process.  This year I’ll spend a little extra time having them look at the female candidates.

-Susan

I have taken my daughter with me since she was very young.  Now that she is eligible to vote, I make time for us to go together, as a demonstration of the importance of all ages at the polls.

-(another) Susan

I have always taken one or more of my children to vote with me. As a result, my eldest is excited about ‘finally’ being old enough to cast his own ballot this time, and my daughters can’t wait to get their chance, too!

-Michelle

I have taken my 9 year old Guider daughter in the past to vote with me when we lived in Alberta so this will be her 1st experience in Ontario.  Canada is a great country to live in & I want for her to understand why!!

-Annette