Vancouver election officials hoping for 25 per cent voter turnout
Posted October 8, 2017 11:36 am.
Last Updated October 8, 2017 11:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Election officials are tempering their expectations on voter turnout for next weekend’s City of Vancouver by-election.
General voting day to fill former Councillor Geoff Meggs’ seat and nine school board trustee positions is on October 14th.
But Chief Election Officer Janice MacKenzie would be happy if only a quarter of eligible voters cast a ballot. That would be far above the 10 per cent turn out for the 1992 by-election.
“I am hoping to see a turnout in the neighbourhood of 20-25 per cent. 25 per cent preferably,’ she says.
So why are the numbers so low?
“I think it’s changing. But the public generally doesn’t realize that municipal government is, in fact, the level government that impacts them most on a day-to-day basis,” MacKenzie says.
About 2,000 people have already cast ballots. The next round of advance voting at city hall is on Tuesday.
There are nine candidates for councillor and 19 people vying for spots on the school board.
