Party logos are popping up everywhere, from lampposts to social media pages. Slogans and partisan chatter fill the airwaves. Election campaigns are a time when talking about where you line up politically becomes somewhat more socially acceptable.

It’s easy to forget that, in the midst of all the mudslinging and rehearsed talking points, there are also key players in every election campaign who are non-partisan. Even though they are often an afterthought for many of us, their role is as essential to the campaign as the candidates vying for your votes.

Elections Canada is the most important non-partisan actor of them all. Mounting an election isn’t easy. With 19 registered political parties, 65 000 polling stations, and 105 140 ballot boxes, Elections Canada has a number of daunting jobs to do to ensure voting runs smoothly.

It takes an army to get it done — almost literally: Elections Canada has about 230,000 workers in the field each election day — almost twice the number of personnel in our entire armed forces.

The complex nature of modern federal elections should not be underestimated. I had the unique opportunity of traveling across the Canadian north in 2008, interviewing election officials and locals about recently instituted ID requirements. I heard many fascinating stories about the kind of obstacles Elections Canada has to deal with regularly. “Participants indicated,” reads the Elections Canada report on the new IDs, “that in the North it is not unusual at all for a poll not to open because the deputy returning officer is out hunting caribou.”

Parties in Canada just don’t try very hard to engage non-voters, no matter what rhetoric they deploy. Parties in Canada just don’t try very hard to engage non-voters, no matter what rhetoric they deploy.

Elections Canada is not the only non-partisan player. There are other groups who work tirelessly to ensure that the campaign prioritizes the needs of voters. Organizations like the one I co-founded in 2004, Apathy is Boring, Samara Canada, Vote Compass and others work not only during the campaign itself but year-round on a variety of initiatives to ensure that citizens have the tools they need to fully engage in our democracy.

The research from both the U.S. and Canada tells us that this kind of non-partisan mobilization should be encouraged. Election campaigns can sometimes seem like they’re all about winners and losers. But its also important to have stakeholders who are invested not just in persuading voters to vote for them, but in mobilizing non-voters to actually vote. That’s something the political parties don’t often prioritize, especially in Canada.

We have seen political parties in other countries use a strategy of mobilizing non-voters — the most notable example being the Barack Obama campaign’s youth voter outreach in 2008 and 2012. In Canada we have yet to see any political party actively implement a strategy that goes beyond moving existing voters along a continuum from ‘weak’ supporter or undecided to ‘strong’ supporter. Parties in Canada just don’t try very hard to engage non-voters, no matter what rhetoric they deploy.

They should. This work is critical essential to ensuring the future health and legitimacy of our democracy. Until we see non-voter engagement strategies widely implemented by federal parties in Canada, we need the important work of these non-partisan actors.

It is essential to remember that not all the players in this campaign are in it to get elected. Some of them are in it for the cause of strengthening democracy itself. We should be grateful to them for their tireless work. And the best way for us to show our gratitude is to get out to the polls and vote on October 19.

Ilona Dougherty is co-founder of Apathy is Boring, a national non-partisan charitable organization that uses art and technology to educate youth about democracy and encourages them to vote. She is a regular commentator in national media, a published author, and speaks to audiences internationally about redefining intergenerational relationships and encouraging active citizenship.

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