Sometimes just getting a ballot in the box can be as complicated as figuring out who to vote for in Tuesday’s 40th federal election.

Proper identification, proof of address, registration cards and the right polling station are all required before you can mark your respective ‘X’ beside a candidate’s name.

For students, the process can be more complex. Are they registered where their parents live or at the address where they go to school? Are they even old enough?

“It can be confusing if not a little overwhelming for some people,” said Allan Warnke, a political science professor at Vancouver Island University. “Especially when you consider we’re also in the midst of a municipal election and two provincial byelections that are taking place also this month in the Lower Mainland. There are a lot of things to know.”

For mail-in ballots or Canadian citizens voting from beyond their neighbourhood polling station, the application deadline was Oct. 7.

The Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca can answer virtually any inquiry relating to election procedure, including the apparently often asked question: Can I eat my ballot? (Answer: No. Willfully defacing or destroying a ballot is prohibited under the Canada Elections Act).

Once established in the voter booth with pen in hand and ballot ready to be checked, however, the process reaches a climax.

“I would say most people really wait until the last week to make a final decision on who they will vote for,” said Warnke. “Some people wait until they’re in the booth to decide.

“With this election ... I think a lot of people are ready. I think a lot of people have been paying closer attention to the issues over the past year.”

The seemingly endless U.S. presidential campaign has also held the electorate in the issues loop, meaning no matter what newscast you’re watching, election mania was broadcast across the airwaves, be it American or Canadian.

A sign of a good voter turnout this election could be found at the advance polls, held on Oct. 3-4 and Oct. 6. A good turnout there, which there was locally, often means a good turnout overall.

An election day immediately following Thanksgiving historically also promotes voting, said Warnke.

“Families and friends have an opportunity to be together and discuss what is important to them,” he said “Often, they come away from the weekend with some kind of consensus or at least a better understanding of what the candidates stand for.”

With Bill C-16, legislation calling for a general election on the third Monday of October every four years, federal elections will go hand-in-hand with turkey dinner.

It could become a wonderful tradition. So go ahead and talk politics while eating turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

Just don’t eat your ballot.

reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com

u Look for more election coverage on pages 18-20.

Voting takes place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 14). For comprehensive election coverage, go to www.nanaimobulletin.com and click on the ‘election’ button.