Work the Vote calls on employers to help boost voter turnout in Manitoba

The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg wantsemployers in Manitoba to make it easier for their employees to vote on April 19.

The organization's campaign is called "Work the Vote."

• CBC Manitoba Votes 2016
• CBC Manitoba Vote Compass

In the 2015 federal election, Winnipeg's five inner city federal ridings saw a 10 to 20 per cent increase in voter turnout, according to the Social Planning Council.

The organization credits get-out-the-vote campaigns for boosting voter turnout, including their a federal version of their Work the Vote campaign.

• New 'Work the Vote' campaign targets Winnipeg employers

"We hoped that by providing the necessary information and materials to employers, they would encourage their staff to vote. The campaign paid off so we are doing it again in the provincial election," said Kate Kehler, spokesperson with the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg (SPCW).

To participate in the Work the Vote campaign, the Social Planning Council asks employers to:

1. Assign senior staff as pro-vote ambassadors.
2. Display Work the Vote posters.
3. Maintain a supply of Work the Vote and Elections Manitoba materials (provided by SPCW).
4. Encourage earlyvoting through the ambassadors.
5. Schedule staff well in advance of the 19th so they know they can vote.
6. If possible, open at 11:30 a.m. or close by 5:30 p.m. to allow staff their full three hours to vote before or after work.

Jessica Dumas, president of the Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce, supports the SPCW's campaign.

"We all need to exercise this fundamental democratic right and I think employers can be a great resource," she said in a news release.