As B.C. municipal elections near, voter research key, says expert
Posted October 12, 2022 1:14 pm.
Last Updated October 12, 2022 3:22 pm.
With municipal elections nearing in B.C., locals still have time to cast their ballot — but what goes into choosing who to vote for?
From a long list of candidates, to attack ads and endless calls and emails trying to gain your support, one expert is encouraging voters to do their research before filling in a ballot.
But in some cases, one expert says history has show that name recognition bodes well for those who are seeking re-election.
“And once somebody’s elected to a municipal government position, power of incumbency is very great because people simply say, ‘Oh, I know that name.’ You have to organize in a very different way to get a competition going, and it’s hard to break that,” explained Allan Tupper, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Are municipal election promises realistic?
He’s encouraging people to get out and vote, but to be mindful of what candidates are promising while doing so.
Many looking to be voted onto city councils and school boards have been making big pledges in recent weeks, but Tupper notes sweeping changes to things like education and healthcare are largely decided at the provincial level.
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“Municipal governments in Canada, even the large and powerful ones like Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, etcetera, are all under the control of their provincial governments to a considerable degree,” he told CityNews.
“The provincial governments in pretty well every province have a broad-ranging lock on the municipal government act or local government act, which governs the activities of municipal communities within the province, so that’s very important. And they also have considerable control over important public services that the civic administrations are engaged with, notably health and law and enforcement,” Tupper continued, adding the federal government also has a big role to play in certain services.
He suggests voters research what promises are realistic — ones that municipal governments can affect, deliver, or change by law. Are the promises feasible?
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He notes it’s also important to know that it doesn’t just come down to a single person either when we’re talking about politics.
“Promises, well you have to remember that pretty well all modern politics is … a group activity, I should say, and it involves not one person doing things but large groups of people. You have to win the consent of others,” Tupper said. “You have to be very cautious about people who claim to be wanting to do things that require the consent of many others and a huge amount of work to get done.”
Voter turnout in municipal elections
Voter turnout is typically lower in municipal elections than for provincial or federal ones. Last month, one political expert suggested that the number of parties, campaigning, and Vancouver’s voting system may have contributed to low turnout in elections past.
Tupper says lower voter turnout in municipal elections is something we see nationally, except in rare circumstances.
“It’s a continuing pattern, it’s also a puzzle. It’s a puzzle because the local governments are very important. They do all sorts of things. It is interdependent, but they are truly close to people in a lot of areas, and that’s important,” he said, noting the reason for low voter turnout is an ongoing debate.
Need to know: Vancouver election: How to make your vote count
The last day for advance voting in Surrey is Wednesday until 8 p.m., while Vancouver’s last advance voting opportunity is Thursday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Join CityNews 1130 for election night on Saturday, with full coverage on-air and online. Follow us on Twitter and subscribe to breaking news alerts for the latest.
