The University of Regina’s (U of R) student union is offering a five-dollar voucher to students who sign up for text message reminders to vote on election day that can be used at the campus bar.
The five-dollar voucher, about the cost of a regular pint of beer, will be given to students who sign up for a text message from the Council of Canadians, a non-governmental organization collaborating with the student union and school to promote voting.
The initiative is part of the University of Regina Students’ Union’s (URSU) Get Out the Vote campaign.
URSU originally planned to directly serve beer to voters, according to URSU president Devon Peters.
“There was a lot of controversy surrounding the idea of serving first-time voters beer, especially since the majority of first-time voters are 18,” Peters said. The legal drinking age in Saskatchewan is 19.
Peters said more than 500 students signed up for the text message reminders.
“It is fantastic to know that over 500 students at U of R got off their butt and registered to vote this year,” he said. “Whether it is because of the voucher or because of the education, we do not know. However, we do know that student voting is at an all-time high, which is great.”
“I think it was a well-intentioned idea,” said Green Party candidate Frances Simonson.
“The main thing to me is, that it would be much more clearly a violation of the law to pay someone to vote for a certain party,” Simonson said. “For that reason I don’t think it’s something anyone will make much fuss about, including me.”
Simonson is running in the riding of Regina-Wascana, where the U of R is located.
Local federal candidates have provided campaign materials, such as pamphlets, to hand out to the hundreds of students who stood in line to register to vote, Peters said.
