It would appear that less than half of the residents in towns and cities on the Island and Coast came out to have their say over the weekend.
According to numbers from CivicInfoBC, the Comox Valley’s combined municipalities had an estimated 38,181 eligible voters. Of those estimated voters, 10,686 ballots were cast, about 28 per cent.
A breakdown of the ballots in the Comox Valley follows:
City of Courtenay: 5,854 ballots cast, 22,813 estimated voters (26%)
Town of Comox: 3,412 ballots cast, 11,975 estimated voters (28%)
Village of Cumberland: 1,420 ballots cast, 3,393 estimated voters (42%)
The story is similar as the towns go farther north. Campbell River saw 10,359 ballots cast, however, with an estimated 28,650 eligible voters 36 per cent of the population voted.
Port Hardy saw less than 1,000 ballots cast, with 866. CivicInfoBC estimated there were 3,028 estimated eligible voters, meaning 28 per cent voted.
Over on the Sunshine Coast, Powell River had an estimated 11,377 eligible voters. With 5,252 ballots cast, about 46 per cent of voters had their say.
Many of the results are a decrease from the 2018 election’s voter turnout. Courtenay saw a decrease of 11 per cent while Comox saw a 12 per cent decrease and Port Hardy dropped by nine per cent.
Cumberland saw a six per cent decrease in its voter turnout compared to the last election.
However, an increase was recorded in Campbell River with an 11 per cent better turnout.
Voters this year saw new mayors elected in Cumberland, Campbell River, Powell River, and Port Hardy.
Comox saw mayor-elect Nicole Minions take the spot after running unopposed, and incumbent Courtenay mayor Bob Wells will sit another four-year term.
STORY BY: Justin Waddell
