-Turnout decline part of global trend: professor-
OSOYOOS TIMES-November 26, 2008-
By Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times
Voter turnout during the Nov. 15 municipal election in Osoyoos was more than 10 per cent lower than turnout for the 2005 election.
According to CivicInfoBC, 46.51 per cent of the Town of Osoyoos's 3,836 registered voters marked a ballot in the municipal election.
Turnout in 2005 was 57.2 per cent.
This year's participation was also lower than the 2002 election, when 54.8 per cent of registered voters came out.
Provincewide, the number of voters who participated in municipal elections this year also dropped.
A little more than 27 per cent, or 801,127 of B.C.'s 2.9 million registered voters, made their way to the polls on Nov. 15.
Three years ago, voter turnout across the province was more than 30 per cent.
Voter turnout information for rural Osoyoos Area A was not available but turnout for the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen was 23.96 per cent.
Political science expert Norman Ruff, a professor emeritus of the University of Victoria, said the decline in the number of voters taking part in municipal elections is part of a worldwide trend of decreasing voter participation.
The reason for the decrease, he said, is a declining attitude towards government coupled with people, especially the young, having less of a sense of civic duty.rnYounger people don't think of it as a duty anymore, Ruff said. There are so many other things competing for one's attention.rnHe added, however, that there is a cyclical trend of higher voter turnout in communities where residents are facing an important issue or referendum.
If people think there's a major issue at stake¦ then they'll turn out, he said. The trick is to somehow make people think that their vote matters.rnOne trend Huff noticed across the province was that turnout in smaller communities such as Osoyoos was higher than in larger communities.
Many small communities that had a registered voter base in the same range as Osoyoos” between 3,000 and 4,000” had turnouts in the 40 to 50 per cent range.
In Oliver, 51.91 per cent of the town's 3,244 registered voters came out to the polls and in Peachland, 46.32 per cent of the town's 3,994 registered voters participated.
Turnout was even higher in some of the province's smallest communities.
Most turnout rates in the 70 per cent to 80 per cent range were in towns, villages or districts with fewer than 500 registered voters.
The highest voter turnout in the province was in the District of Wells, where 92.54 per cent of the area's 134 voters participated.
Wells has a permanent population of 240 people.
Huff said turnout is often higher in smaller communities because local governments are closer to the people and residents have a greater awareness of the candidates as those running for office may be involved in community organizations and may live nearby.
In a small community, you're more aware of the individual and the names will be better known, he said, adding that name recognition is everything in an election.
Indeed, Osoyoos's turnout in the municipal election was slightly higher than the turnout at the polls for the January, 2006, federal election.
According to poll-by-poll results available from Elections Canada, a little more than 2,400, or 46.2 per cent, of the area's nearly 5,200 registered voters came out to mark a ballot in that election at the Osoyoos polling station.
Poll-by-poll results from the most recent federal election on Oct. 14 are not yet available.
Osoyoos's turnout in the municipal election, Huff said, was pretty healthy in relation to most of the province.
If you're in the mid-40s (percentage), you're doing extremely well, he said, adding that getting more than one-third of voters out to the polls is a good turnout.
For those people who did vote in Osoyoos, the Town's recently purchased electronic voting machines performed well, said Janette Van Vianen, Osoyoos's chief electoral officer.
People were expecting something a little more complicated than they were, she said.
Election results were available to the candidates by 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 15, Van Vianen added.
We didn't have to stay late counting by hand.rnIn the 2005 election, she said, election officials were counting ballots past 1 a.m.
The winners of the election were Stu Wells for mayor, Margaret Chadsey, C.J. Rhodes, Michael Ryan and Ted Cronmiller for Osoyoos town council and Mark Pendergraft for rural Area A director.
Claude Moreira was acclaimed as water councillor and June Harrington and Marieze Tarr were acclaimed as trustees for School District 53.
The judicial recount period ended Nov. 24.
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