City of Dauphin voter turnout was down for this year’s municipal election.
There was a 30 percent turnout, compared to 34 during the last election.
Kirk Dawson, the Senior Election Official, talks about the election and why he thinks the turnout was so low.
“We anticipated, actually, a stronger showing as the advance polls were up 18 percent on October 18th. Our analysis would be that because there was no mayoral candidates being elected that maybe that was why the turnout was a little lower. The actual election itself was uneventful and went very smoothly.”
He talks about the campaign overall.
“I thought it went great! Obviously, Al Dowhan was acclaimed as mayor, but as the councillor standpoint, the participation of all ten candidates was very strong. I think people saw signs around town, the Chamber of Commerce event where the debate happened was excellent and well attended. We look at the media hits; there it was strong. I think the electorate was well informed. All candidates did themselves proud.”
For the low turnout, Dawson thinks it’s something the community needs to talk about. He wonders what causes it and what could bring more people to the polls. Is it more awareness, is there voter apathy?
He says voting is essential for democracy and he would hope voter turnout numbers would be more than 50 percent.
