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Younger voters can have trouble registering

Travelling around for work can make having a fixed address tricky, woman writes

I vote for change. And because its my right; a right that is relatively difficult to exercise.

It was tricky for me. I just moved to town and haven’t updated my ID yet (Victoria’s housing market is tough to break into and I travel for work).

Anticipating this, I applied to vote by mail from my Ottawa address before leaving. My application got lost. But, I followed up.

My older brother also had problems. He moved temporarily from Toronto to Montreal and picked up a sublet. He has a Canadian passport, a valid drivers license and a valid medicare card, but no proof of address. He’s been jumping through loops to get registered. Elections Canada asked him to pay to get a letter notarized.

My younger brother has no fixed address. He is back in Canada in between living in Seoul and taking off for an internship in the Philippines. He’s waiting to hear from Elections Canada what he has to do.

That is the reality for my generation. We move around. Getting registered is a nuisance. Despite this, on Oct. 19, let’s get out in record numbers to vote for a Canada we believe in.

Heidi Monk

Victoria