According to a new survey, 69% of people who plan to vote in next month's municipal election in Toronto would prefer to vote online if it was available, while 82% of people not planning on voting could change their mind if they could vote online. Given voter turnout was only 38% in Toronto and 32% in the Greater Toronto Area in 2003, anything to get more people involved in the demographic process has can only be a good thing. In particular, it might encourage younger people, who feel disengaged with politics or, worse, uninterested in politics. The survey raises two intriguing and complex questions: will online voting really bring out the vote by making it easier/more convenient than trudging out to the polling booth - usuallyafter work when you've got kids to feed, hockey to play, television to watch, drinks to drink, etc. Second, why is there such apathy about voting, particularly at the municipal level where elected representatives live in your neighbourhood? (See this Toronto Star story for one take on the apathy issue) Maybe the Web will become a tool to spark interest in politics and voting through sites such as MySpace, YouTube and blogs. MySpace, for example, just launched a Web site where people can register to vote in the U.S. (of course, you have to be a U.S. citizen). Then again, maybe people lost their faith in politics because no one really seems honest and/or real. Maybe what we need is more politicians such as Tom Dobbs in Man of the Year.