Voter turnout questioned

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Candidates and supporters wait for results, Saturday

Although Penticton voters experienced long lines at the trade and convention centre on Saturday, it apparently wasn't because of a higher voter turnout.

According to Simone Blais, the city's communications officer, the voter turnout for the 2014 election was 8,424, compared to 8,589 in the 2011 election and 3,752 in the 2013 by-election.

"On Saturday, two things happened that we believe contributed to the longer lines," said Blais. "The room was configured a little differently and elections officials were registering hundreds of new voters in. The registration process takes a little more time compared to just checking in as an already registered elector."

We don't have the numbers yet, she added, but hope to have a breakdown for the 2014 election report that will go to council Dec. 15. That report will include an overview of how various things worked for the election, and options to consider in the 2018 election.

Meanwhile, residents are expressing how they feel about the election on the Facebook page, Educate Encourage Empower # Penticton.

Concerns range from the official turnout numbers seeming low, to the long lines, which led to seniors being inconvenienced and people who didn't want to wait in line, not voting.

On the street, people are saying they either stuck it out or were frustrated by the length of time it took them to vote.

"It was crazy, way too long," said a resident named Jerry, who declined to give his last name. "I got there at 3:30 p.m. and it was absolutely packed with the line not moving."

On the other hand, resident Meagan Willis stayed and voted.

"I expected it to be that way, so I wasn't frustrated," she said. "But my dad left, he's in his 60s and didn't want to stand in line."

She also did not expect the voter turnout figure for the 2014 election to be lower.

"That actually seems surprising to me, because there were so many people there voting," she said.

Candidates and their supporters also had to wait until around 9:30 p.m. for the results to come in.

New Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said the main reason for that wait was it was busy right up until 8 p.m. and they then had to count the mail in ballots, which took extra time.

He expects that staff will touch bases on the election at tonight's council meeting. It will then come back to the new council on Dec. 15.

"We will be talking about what we can do to improve the voting process next time," he said.