Get hitched, drive a car, make a living and, now, you can add register to vote to the list of privileges that 16- and 17-year-olds will have in Ontario - some of whom may be able to cast a ballot if they celebrate an 18th birthday before the next general election, set for June 7, 2018.

Attorney General Yasir Naqvi on Wednesday reiterated the Liberals' plan to move the election date up to June from October and lower the voter registration age, as well as a handful of other measures to "modernize" elections following on the advice of Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa. Naqvi spoke to reporters after a Q&A with high-school students at the Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto.

"Every time you groan about a pop quiz, you are about to watch me go through one," he quipped to the crowd of student onlookers. "By focusing on voter engagement, making voting easier and representation, we are modernizing our election process and empowering Ontarians of all ages to take control of their democratic system."

A spring election day usually means better weather and longer hours of sunlight. Municipal elections are also typically held in October, and voter fatigue can impact turnout.

As well, by letting younger people register earlier, they will be prepared to cast their ballot by the time they turn 18. As Essensa pointed out in his 2014-15 annual report, teachers can educate students on the process before they're off to post-secondary school or the workforce, when life becomes hectic and people become harder to track down. If an 18-year-old is already on the list of eligible electors, Elections Ontario will automatically send a notice of registration card before vote day with information on when and where to vote. Therefore, they are more likely to vote, Essensa said.

The government is proposing other measures, including mapping 15 new ridings to match federal boundaries, with the exception of keeping an additional seat in the North. That will bring the number of seats up to 122 from 107, with 11 seats in the North (federally there are 10), and mostly create new ridings where there has been a spike in population growth, such as the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The government is also establishing a Far North Electoral Boundaries Commission to review boundaries of the northernmost ridings in Ontario - Kenora-Rainy River and Timmins-James Bay.

Furthermore, language in the law that allows canvassers to go into apartment and condominium buildings will be tightened up, and the chief electoral officer will be allowed to fine property owners should they be turned away or denied access.

The changes are part of the Election Statute Law Amendment Act that Naqvi re-tabled Wednesday afternoon, after it died on the order paper following prorogation. (And are coupled with the Election Finances Statute Law Amendment and Electoral Boundaries Reform Acts to widely reform electoral process.)

The idea, Naqvi said, is to "engage more people in the democratic process," but he could not commit to other recommendations Essensa has made in the past that he said would do just that, including online voting, as some municipalities already do, and setting the election day for a holiday or weekend, to boost turnout.

Just 51 per cent of the electorate went to the polls in the 2014 general election, with a meagre 34 per cent of youth (18 to 25-year-olds) casting ballots.

Naqvi said he has qualms about whether the electronic polling process could be manipulated, and it's unlikely constituents will vote electronically in the 2018 general election.

"I hear you, I think this is a very important aspect. I also know that we need to make sure that when we do get there, that there is utmost confidence around the use of technology, that there are no doubts that the system could somehow be ever jeopardized," he said.

However, he did appear to be open to testing out a model in a byelection. (There just happens to be two on Nov. 17 in Ottawa-Vanier and Niagara West-Glanbrook.) In the Whitby-Oshawa byelection earlier this year, Elections Ontario successfully piloted an electronic vote tabulator - and the government is now planning on an electronic count province-wide.

Paige Escoffrey-Stewart, a Grade 10 student who heard Naqvi speak, told QP Briefing later she thought it "really cool that they're thinking about younger kids or teenagers and about elections because I know a lot of people don't feel like they have a voice in the elections. Or, they're worried about, when they go to the elections, how they're going to be able to begin the process of voting."

Escoffrey-Stewart is 15 years old, but after her next birthday, she said she will "definitely" register.

While some in the online-vote camp suggest young, tech-savvy folks are more likely to cast an electronic ballot, Escoffrey-Stewart isn't quite convinced just yet. "I also have worries about online voting, just because of hacking, and I do worry that people will not trust the results. If it can be made sure that it will be secure then it will be really great for a lot of people - people who can't leave their homes, or who have disabilities or who just live [too] far away - it would be so great for them. So that would be cool, yeah."

To contact the reporter on this story: snanji@qpbriefing.com

Liberals to set spring election, lower voter registration age

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