City disappointed as Regina voter turnout hits lowest percentage in decades

Election turnout in Regina was the lowest in decades Wednesday — 20.4 per cent of eligible voters.

Having only one in five potential voters heading to the polls represented a steep drop from 2012, when the turnout was 32.3 per cent.

"We have a city that's very proud of itself and voting is one of those key public engagement tools that wasn't necessarily taken up on this election and we hope it will be in the future," said city clerk and election returning officer Jim Nicol.

City election officials say they were encouraged by advance poll numbers which were up but that did not translate on election day.

Nicol said the city was proud of its advertising campaign and election website which informed people about the candidates and where and how they can vote.

"We cannot force people to vote. We hope people are taking some time over the next two days to ask themselves, what would lead them to vote. What could we do better," Nicol said. 

A tale of two cities

Regina's result is also a dramatically different result from Saskatoon, where turnout was 40.1 per cent — up more than three percentage points from 2012.

While about 80,000 came out to vote for the four Saskatoon mayoral candidates, fewer than 36,000 voted for the five Regina candidates.

Turnout at a municipal election in Regina hasn't been this low since 1978, when it was 19.8 per cent.

This year's result is a slight improvement over that. It happened in an election year without a referendum on the ballot and with an incumbent mayor going up against four relatively low-profile challengers.

Civic election turnout across Canada

Here's a look at how Regina and Saskatoon compare to some other mayoral elections across Canada.

Mayor says residents satisfied

Mayor Michael Fougere ended up winning in a landslide, garnering about 70 per cent of the votes of the 20 per cent who showed up.

When asked about the low turnout, Fougere said, "I would say firstly, people are generally satisfied with what's happening. What has happened, the need for change isn't there and that means it's more placid, more calm and to me that means people are likely to say 'I like what's happening - I will let it go.'"

University of Regina history professor Stephen Kenny called the voting numbers scandalous.

Kenny said it's normal for Mayor Fougere to chalk lack of voting up to satisfaction but he said the statement is bad for his credibility.

Lack of a voter registry not a reason for low turnout

Neither Regina or Saskatoon has a voters list. But a political scientist who sits on the Elections Canada advisory board says a list would have little effect on turnout.

"Those administrative mechanisms matter at the margins. They will have limited impact on levels of turnout but they're not the main factor that affect turnout," said University of Manitoba professor emeritus Paul Thomas.

Thomas said other factors including disillusionment and pessimism over politics tend to contribute more to voter apathy than convenience of voting or being registered.

Across the board, turnout has been declining in federal and provincial elections. Thomas said the biggest group that contributes to low voting numbers is young people.

"Elections agencies are trying to do what they can to appeal to young voters and get them better motivated to get out to vote," Thomas said.

Mobile voting

One way to engage the younger generation in voting is to allow mobile or online voting.

Thomas said Elections Canada has been working for a decade on providing a form of online voting but the big hurdle is security and confidentiality.

Perhaps the only way to increase voter turnout is through a reward or punishment.

"The simplest and least expensive way to increase turnout would be mandatory voting based on a law that imposed fines or offered incentives," Thomas said.

Voter turnout through the years

For comparison, here's the turnout (in per cent of eligible voters) from previous municipal elections:

1978:  19.8
1979: 48.4
1982: 49.6
1985: 51.7
1987: 41.0
1988: 56.9
1991: 43.0
1994: 39.4
1997: 25.7
2000: 38.3
2003: 24.9
2006: 36.5
2009: 25.0
2012: 32.3

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