You feared the unknown.

But on Election Day you stayed at home and let other people vote for your future.

That’s the story of more than half of British Columbians who shunned their democratic duty in the recently concluded B.C. elections which gave incumbent-premier Gordon Campbell a historic three-peat.

The voter turnout numbers are shocking, and sad.

They underline a non-engaging election campaign that was punctuated with photos of a man in his underpants and speeding tickets.

More importantly, the low voter turnout says we take our democracy for granted.

Campbell in his victory speech said: "It’s a proud night for British Columbia."

That could not be further from the truth.

If anything, it was a pathetic night for democracy in British Columbia.

Our leaders did not get their message across to the youth.

They left many British Columbians uninspired and unimpressed.

Even their promises and scandals could not generate a ripple in the province.

Basically, when you cut through all the campaign ads, the battle strategy by both parties revolved around Gordon Campbell’s leadership.

The NDP abused him. The Liberals put him on pedestal. Carole James was the chief reason why Gordon Campbell won.

The future of B.C. and issues that matter to the province were a sideshow at best.

What is more frightful is that there seems to be no one in the current ranks that look like they can set British Columbians on fire.

Campbell is likely to step down after the 2010 Olympics and go out on a high note instead of facing a challenge, or worse still a coup from the dissidents who dislike his arrogance.

Carole James will fade away, probably paving the way for someone like current Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to fix the fortunes of the NDP.

Neither party nor its leadership has so far shown a plan to broaden their bases and options to attract more British Columbians to the ballot box.

Which brings us to the question: Mandatory voting for B.C., anyone?

Right now complacency rules, not only among the electorate but with those vying for office.

The parties are doing nothing to boost turnout.

So maybe the time has come for mandatory voting legislation, as is the case in Australia.

Forced engagement will likely dissipate the "Oh, what could we do?" mentality.

As someone once rightly pointed out: "Bad politicians are sent to office by good people who don’t vote."

We would like to hear your views on mandatory voting legislation in British Columbia.