What This Means and Why We Should Care
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way governments around the world operate. You don’t need to look much further than south of the border, where an already controversial federal government has further fallen into disrepair in the face of the pandemic. In a country that was once considered a bastion of democracy, we now see the President talking about postponing the upcoming November election (showing his utter ignorance of the US constitution) and even threatening to reject the results altogether if they favour his opponent. Many Canadians liken the political turmoil in the United States to a season of the popular Netflix Original Series House of Cards – a drama that’s entertaining to watch, but ultimately something we know could never realistically happen here. While I must admit that the U.S. is an exercise in extremes, we need to acknowledge what has become a reality for many countries around the world, including Canada: COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of our democratic institutions and continues to pose a real challenge to the smooth operation of democracy, something that our generation has taken for granted.
According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s (IDEA) Global State of Democracy Indices, at least 70 countries worldwide have postponed their national and subnational elections. Canada is no exception, with a number of provincial by-elections moved to at least eight months from now (May 2021). The impact of COVID-19 on the operation of democratic institutions in Canada is even more pertinent after Prime Minister Trudeau prorogued Parliament on 18 August 2020. Currently, Elections Canada has created a working group to assess their ability to conduct a nation-wide vote safely. According to agency reports, this includes determining alternative polling station locations and the ability to conduct the vote via mail-in ballots. While the question of mail-in ballots amid the pandemic has been a hot topic in the United States, it is also an important consideration in Canada should a federal election occur any time soon. Not only does the use of mail-in (special) ballots present a logistical nightmare, but a quick survey of the Canada Elections Act reveals that as it stands, Canadian law does not allow for elections to take place entirely by special ballot. Therefore, for this to even be considered a possibility, Parliament will be required to amend the Act.
The limited consideration of pandemic contingency plans by the federal government to this point may be explained by the general election of 1917. This federal election which saw the face of Canada’s one-hundred-dollar bill, Sir Robert Borden, solidify his prime ministership was one year before the Spanish Flu ravaged the country. Although we have come a long way since 1917 in terms of both universal suffrage and the technology to administer the vote, Canada simply has never had experience with nation-wide elections during a pandemic. However, even if we had, this doesn’t seem to be an indicator of success when it comes to pandemic preparedness. Although the United States held relatively successful mid-term elections in 1918, as we all know, they are still facing numerous challenges surrounding the upcoming November election. But how exactly did the 1918 mid-term election work? Maybe we can learn from another country’s experience? Historians studying this question accredit its success simply to the cooperation of political parties and those eligible to vote with public health guidelines, for example wearing masks and altering campaign strategies to prioritize social distancing – something that is clearly not the case today in the United States, and doesn’t seem to be an important lesson for the Trump administration.
But we can’t just look at North America when trying to understand how widespread the adverse impacts of the pandemic are on our democratic institutions. Of the 70 countries identified by IDEA to have postponed elections, 12 are located in Latin America, 14 in Africa, 16 in the Asia-Pacific, and 3 in the Middle East. In addition to postponing elections, it is noted that many of these countries have also rescheduled dates for national referenda on important societal questions. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is in Chile. This South American country has been experiencing nation-wide protests since October 2019 that were sparked by an increase in public transit fares, which have since grown to encompass grievances over the social welfare system and the protection of fundamental human rights in the country. Popular support has been expressed to rewrite the country’s constitution to address these issues, effectively overhauling one of the last vestiges of Pinochet’s oppressive dictatorship. The referendum on the question of whether to begin this process was originally supposed to be held on April 26th of this year, but as a result of the pandemic has been moved to just over a month from now, on October 25th, 2020. However, inaction on the part of the national government has meant that there is still no official policy on how those infected with the coronavirus will be able to exercise their fundamental right to vote. This is especially concerning as the result of this referendum has the potential to radically alter the operation of Chilean society.
With no signs of the pandemic slowing, there are real questions surrounding how free and fair elections, a hallmark of a democratic society, will take place safely. How long can elections reasonably be postponed before citizens of a country are no longer effectively represented by their governments? If anything, this pandemic has exposed how ill-equipped our current organization of democratic institutions are to handle global stressors. This should be a wakeup call not only for lawmakers and those in positions of power to reinforce their commitment to democracy, but also for the public to demand action. Devising safer ways for the public to express their political will should be paramount as surely this is not the last pandemic that humanity will face.
