AJAX, Ont. - Sum 41 band members are among a host of homegrown celebrities helping tackle voter apathy in Ajax, Ont., in a YouTube video encouraging residents to vote in October's municipal election.

The town's "Get Out the Vote" video features residents and celebrities such as former Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex and former major league baseball player Nigel Wilson.

"It addresses the apathy, it addresses the indifference that people have out there," said Renee Horton, a spokeswoman with the town east of Toronto.

The town says 23 per cent of eligible voters in Ajax cast their ballot in the 2006 election, but in Ontario the average is 30 per cent.

Martin de Rond, director of legislative and information services for Ajax, said the municipality has been struggling to engage people in the voting process.

"We're looking (into) why our turnout has gone from 30 per cent about three, four elections ago to the low 20s," said de Rond.

"It's quite disturbing."

There are unique circumstances in Ajax that other municipalities may not face, including rapid growth in the Durham region, said de Rond.

"You've got a lot of new people coming to the area, and a lot of them are new Canadians," he said.

"We have a high diversity content here and I think getting them kind of assimilated, familiar with the town, takes awhile."

Along with new immigrants, the campaign entitled "Vote - It matters" will target students, professionals and older adults.

The video is a key component of the campaign.

"We feel the video is a great tool that can be spread online, and we hope it can go viral," said Horton.

As of Wednesday, the video had about 330 hits on YouTube.

Set against a white backdrop, it shows local celebs listing facts about poor voter turnout, with Flex saying, "What, only one out of four people voted?"

The end of the video shows a clip sent from Los Angeles by the band Sum 41.

"We're from Ajax. We vote. You should vote too in the next election," says band member Steve Jocz.

The video is posted on the town's website, townofajax.com, its Facebook fan page and YouTube channel.

The election is set for Oct. 25.