Why Such Low Voter Turnout?

Our congratulations to Fin Donnelly, the newly-elected MP for New Westminster-Coquitlam, and to all of the candidates who ran in the by-election; Diana Dilworth, Rebecca Helps and Ken Beck Lee. Congratulations as well to all those who worked on the candidate campaigns. Campaigns are hard work and everyone who took part in the process is to be commended.
As is typically the case in by-elections, voter turnout was low. Only 29.9 per cent of the eligible voters bothered to take the time to vote (and just two days before Remembrance Day which honours those who fought and died to preserve our right to vote).
Sadly, low voter turnout is a trend that’s showing itself federally, provincially and municipally even in general elections. Exactly why is not entirely clear.
With no disrespect to 49.6 percent of the vote that went to Fin Donnelly last week, it works out that only about 14.5 per cent of the eligible voters chose the person to represent the eastern half of New Westminster plus Coquitlam and part of Port Moody in Ottawa.
Even more discouraging is the fact that the 29.9 per cent voter turnout in last week’s by-election beats the 24.3 per cent voter turnout in the last civic election in New Westminster. Out of 41,551 eligible civic voters, only 10,092 bothered to go to the polls in November 2008. And in many cases those elected to city council and the school board were elected by barely 8 or 9 per cent of the eligible voters.