The transit plebiscite is winding down, and ballots are pouring in.
As of Wednesday, Elections B.C. had screened 55,838 ballot packages from Burnaby, representing 38.7 per cent of registered voters.
Transit expert Gordon Price attributes the high turnout to three things – the intense interest in the topic, the simplicity of the voting process and the “political machinations to identify and target voters.”
“Part of it is the issue itself – how much it motivates people,” said Price, the director of SFU’s city program and a previous TransLink board member. “It has struck such an emotional cord.”
The ballot offers a simple Yes or No question, he pointed out, and voters don’t have to go to a polling station – the most difficult aspect of voting is following the directions on the three ballot envelopes.
Social media has also played a big part, he added.
Both the Yes and No sides have been vying publicly for votes, but the results of those campaigns won’t be seen until after the final results are tallied at the end of May.
Price said he expects to see ballot returns increasing steadily towards the end of May.
“I think you will see a big wave in the next few weeks,” he said.
In comparison to the high number of ballot returns from Burnaby, 41,494 residents cast their vote during the last municipal election, representing 28.9 per cent of registered voters.
And that was a big jump from 23.3 per cent in the 2011 election.
However, voter turnout was higher in the last democratic action when voters mailed in their ballots – the harmonized sales tax referendum. In Burnaby, 76,957 voters sent in their HST ballots.
Jordan Bateman, spokesperson for the No TransLink Tax campaign, said he’s pleased to see the high return numbers thus far.
“It’s clear our grassroots No TransLink Tax campaign is engaging people, and it’s exciting to see more votes have already been cast in this plebiscite than were received by mayors and councils last fall,” Bateman said in a press release. “We’re hopeful that turnout will continue to grow over the final 23 days of voting, and push the count to well more than 40 per cent.”
Elections B.C. has a plebiscite services office at Lougheed Town Centre during mall hours, except for Sundays and holidays. Voters can go there to register to vote, update their information, receive information on how to vote and ask for a voting package until end of day Friday.
Voters have until May 29 to return their ballots.Voters have until Friday, May 15, to get a ballot package, and until May 29 to return their ballots.
