Storm the Ballot Box: An Insider's Guide to a Voting Revolution

by Jo-Ann Roberts

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2025

Reviews

[Kevin Prinoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Storm the Ballot Box” (Jo-Ann Roberts, 2025) examines Canada’s voting crisis which stems primarily from eroding public interest, declining government support, and an unwillingness to pursue necessary and meaningful change to our voting system. Jo-Ann is well qualified to identify and evaluate these issues based on her varied and relevant background. She has been a life-long conscientious voter, a reporter dealing with politics, and has held roles in Canada’s Green Party at federal and provincial levels which included running as a candidate, herself, on several occasions. The scope of her experiences as an involved citizen, reporter, and political party member/leader/candidate have given her a multifaceted and in-depth view of political processes and voting issues which most Canadians perceive superficially and briefly, essentially as harried window shoppers during elections. The author’s writing style is down-to-earth which makes her presentation of material reminiscent of a personal conversation over coffee with a friend rather than a mere clinical diagnosis of political and electoral ills. Her writing style combined with the book’s brevity - at 180 pages it is written “to-the-point” without extraneous details - make this book engaging and easy to read. Jo-Ann wrote this book to draw attention to increasing citizenry disengagement from voting, as well as various flaws in our electoral system which was “created for a two party system” (page 9). Canada now has more than two political parties and smaller parties are disadvantaged by current electoral processes and political funding or lack thereof. Specific and practical suggestions to strengthen voting in Canada are directed to citizens, our government, and electoral bodies. Those are proposed throughout this book and summarized for emphasis in the final chapter. Jo-Ann identifies voting issues of which most people are unaware due to their occasional and fleeting interest and generally superficial perspective of our political system. I was surprised to learn about the former “per-vote subsidy” (page 130), the “50 - 60 percent rebate on election expenses” if a party gets more than 2 percent of the popular vote (page 131), and the effect of said funding sources on political parties. The manipulation of so-called “fixed” election dates (pages 141-153) for political advantage is an issue that I had previously never considered. Concepts and issues are made relatable through Jo-Ann’s personal anecdotes involving people. For example, why is it important for Canadians to vote? This is answered by one of Jo-Ann’s former volunteers, Sharmarke Dubow, who was born in Somalia and arrived to Canada as a refugee. Sharmarke explained to Jo-Ann: “I have seen people killed because they were fighting for the right to vote. I want every Canadian to know they can cast a ballot and should never take that right for granted” (pages 164 - 166) - powerful words. Even though voting is a civic duty, voter participation in recent Canadian provincial and federal elections ranged between roughly 45 to 70 percent as the Canadian electorate drifts towards apathy. Jo-Ann suggests various strategies to address this disturbing trend. The importance of a free press is integral to any democracy and discussed at length. Journalism need to be protected and supported in the public and private sectors since reporters are our eyes and ears on all levels of government, our country, and the world so we can make better choices when voting. “Storm the Ballot Box” serves as a “Coles Notes” summation of electoral reform and civics in Canada. Most people don’t have the opportunity or time to learn the complex issues and possible solutions summarized briefly but comprehensively in this book. Jo-Ann makes understanding easy - highly recommended to all Canadians.

[Mackenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know if this is a memoir, a book about the electoral system or a book about the history and future of democracy. This wasn’t what I thought it would be from the blurb so I think that affected my enjoyment of the series slightly.

It was a very easy and engaging read, it didn’t feel daunting to read.

I would have liked more data points or citations to back up some of the suggestions that were proposed.
I would have also liked some comparisons about what’s happening in other countries, some success stories would have been nice. There was more of that with the last 3 chapters but would have liked more.

Overall a good read, I didn’t know a lot about the history of previous elections so that was interesting and the recommendations made were pretty concrete.

[Em Coates · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who thought I knew a lot about politics I learned SO MUCH. I would say that this book is a wonderful starting point for anyone who wants to be engaged in democracy no matter your prior knowledge! You will learn something no matter how much you know but it still remains accessible for those with no prior knowledge of politics. And I am so proud to know Jo-Ann and her family and to have had the chance to volunteer on her daughter’s political campaign. My experience volunteering with the greens has fundamentally changed my life and my interactions with politics for the better.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think that reading about voting reform in Canada would be dry and unapproachable, this book will change your mind. I meant to have a quick look at this book, but 50 pages later, I was hooked and ready for more.

Author Jo-Ann Roberts is perfectly placed to discuss campaigns and elections as she has covered many in her 40 years of journalism and as a candidate in 2 elections, one on each coast. She uses her curiosity and radio hosting skills to ask everybody, old and young, and even her 4 children, about how and why they vote or don’t vote, which is the case for 1/3 of Canadians in federal elections. It’s even worse provincially.

She offers 20 insightful recommendations on how to improve the fairness of voting and of media coverage of election campaigns in Canada. She has opened my mind to the problems with my usual strategic voting.

Her writing style is warm and personal, as if she were sitting across a kitchen table, talking about our sometimes fragile democracy. I hope this book finds a wide readership.

[Lisa Brookins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the book - It an easy read and gives us a peek inside what it is like to run for office and how the electoral process is structured. I enjoyed reading this book and I learned things I never knew about how voting and election politics work in Canada. Jo-Ann made great points supported by facts and antidotes and ended with a nice summation. I went back online and bought extra copies to give to as gifts. Highly recommend this read!

[Daniel Macgregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative text, strongly outlines and supports all 20 suggestions to improve Canadian democracy both provincially and federally. If all these recommendations were implemented, we'd be living in a much better country.

[Tanya Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Jo-Ann’s writing style drew me in, and I learned a lot from her book. Inspired by her call to action.

[Wayne Woodman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Far more author centric and autobiographical than I expected