Windsor West had Ontario's lowest voter turnout last election ⁠— and it got even lower this year

After ranking lowest in terms of voter turnout four years ago, the riding of Windsor West saw even less of its voters take to the polls in the 2022 provincial election.

According to Elections Ontario, 39,275 out of 90,698 registered voters in Windsor West cast a ballot in the 2018 provincial election. That's 43 per cent — the lowest voter turnout rate in Ontario that year.

After Thursday's vote, Elections Ontario is reporting about 31,799 voters cast a ballot out of 95,436 registered electors.

"I didn't have time. I was working. I vote every year. I just didn't have time to go this year," said Steve Karatzias. "Next time, I've got to find more time to vote. I'm pretty upset with myself."

That makes Windsor West's voter turnout rate for the 2022 provincial election 33 per cent.

"I actually chose not to go out and vote. I just didn't think that any of the candidates represented my views and I didn't think it'd make a difference," said Trieu, who did not provide his last name.

"I think it's a problem with politics in general. A lot of times, they just make promises and never really act on it after they get elected into office. To me, it doesn't really matter who's in there.”

Windsor-Essex’s other two ridings also saw decreased voter turnout between 2018 and 2022.

Windsor-Tecumseh had a voter turnout rate of 47 per cent in 2018, dropping to 40 per cent in 2022.

In Essex, the voter turnout rate of 56 per cent in 2018 dipped Thursday to 47 per cent.

According to Jon Pammett, a retired political science professor at Carleton University, the voting process needs to be made more convenient for the younger populations as they get older.

Some methods, he suggests, include a shift toward online-based voting. However, he acknowledges that can come with its own share of hiccups⁠ — much like Elections Ontario experienced on voting day.

Another, he said, is to ease the process of voting by mail.

"It is possible to vote by mail now. But it's a hassle. You have to apply for the privilege of doing it. You have something sent to you and then you send it back,” he said.

“For somebody who’s on the margin of voting anyways, it’s a deterrent.”

According to Pammett, none of the political parties in the 2022 election did a great job of connecting with voters outside of their current supporter base.

“The key way to do that is to meet them personally. So calling up on the phone has not been seen, in research, to be very effective,” he added. “But the key thing is actually meeting people. So the candidates have to be particularly active in reaching out.”

But one of the most immediate ways, Pammett suggested to increase voter turnout, is to make it compulsory. However, he acknowledges that will be a hard sell for many young voters.

“Public opinion polls indicate the idea of compulsory voting has about a 25 per cent approval rating in Canada, so it would take a brave government to impose voting.”

CTV News also heard from some residents who said they refused to vote because polls that were published ahead of Election Day suggested a PC majority was a foregone conclusion.

But according to Pammett, the public is entitled to access that data as the election approaches.

“It's hard to do anything about that, short of preventing publication of polls,” he said.

“You don't really want to do that because polls are information — and people deserve to have the information.”