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Justin Trudeau Smacks Down Every Excuse Not To Vote In Vice Town Hall

"If a young person doesn't vote, you are still voting."

Are you mulling ducking the ballot box in this election?

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau thinks that's a bad idea. He outlines why in this clip from a Vice News town hall held earlier this week.

One of the best explanations for the importance of voting that I've ever heard. And I would have given kudos to Harper or Mulcair had they said it too.

Posted by Sandenn Killoran on Tuesday, 6 October 2015

In the clip, Trudeau makes a passionate appeal for people to show up to vote on Oct. 19.

Because if you don't, he argues, someone else will basically do it for you.

"Don't kid yourself. If a young person doesn't vote, you are still voting," he said. "You've actually given a double vote to someone who is voting and may disagree with you."

Trudeau went on to say, "Stephen Harper doesn't want you to vote."

He qualified that by bringing up the Conservative leader's Fair Elections Act, passed last year, which, among other things, limits Elections Canada's ability to encourage voting and to accept voting cards or vouching as a form of identification at polling stations.

"He changed the Elections Canada Act to make it so Elections Canada wouldn't be allowed to go and encourage people who are from groups who typically don't vote much to actually get out and vote," Trudeau said.

He summed up his points by saying, "The most important thing about this election is that people get out and vote.

"And yes I'd love for you guys to vote Liberal, but I don't even care, as long as you vote and try and make a big difference."

Trudeau's concern about voter turnout is not without foundation. Data from Elections Canada shows the country has seen some of the worst turnout in its history in the last five elections.

The 2008 election saw voter turnout of 58.8 per cent, the lowest proportion of electors who have ever voted in Canadian history.

And one of the reasons for low turnout is that younger demographics are "voting in lower numbers than their equivalent age cohorts did in the past," according to a Library of Parliament study.

This could be happening for a number of reasons. Carleton University political science head Jonathan Malloy told CBC News younger people only want to vote if they "feel it's authentic."

"They don't want to vote if they don't feel informed about the issues, that they are cynical about people, they don't want to go in and hold their nose and vote for just anybody," he said.

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