City of Vancouver making it easier to vote during 2014 municipal election
Posted June 25, 2014 2:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If Vancouver is your home, you’ll now be able to fill out a ballot for the November civic election at any of the nearly 120 voting places in the city.
“That location may be at a community centre where you or your kids take swimming lessons, near a gym, near a yoga studio, close to where you do your Saturday errands, or just a short walk from your home,” explains the City of Vancouver’s Chief Election Officer Janice MacKenzie.
Vancouver says it wants to increase turnout and make voting easier.
It will also allow eight days of advance polls before election day on November 15.
There will be several accessibility tools at advanced polling stations to assist people with disabilities including a sip and puff device, an audio system with headphones to read the ballot, and a magnification device to enlarge the ballot.
During the last municipal election in 2011, Vancouver voter participation was 35 per cent of eligible voters, a four point increase over 2008. In 2011 across BC, average turnout for local-government elections was 29.55 per cent.
“We continue to see a concerning trend of low voter turnout for elections at all levels of government and especially at the local government level,” MacKenzie added. “The low turnout is particularly noticeable among younger voters. Our 2014 election outreach has a significant focus on young people and engaging them in our democratic process.”
Nominations for this year’s municipal election open at 9 a.m. on Sept. 30 and close at 4 p.m. on Oct. 10.
