The last St. John's byelection saw less than 20% turnout. The city clerk hopes next time will be different

The City of St. John's chief returning officer is optimistic that voters will turn out for the Ward 3 byelection on Tuesday, even though less than one in five eligible residents participated in the city's previous byelection earlier this year.

Tom Davis won the Ward 4 byelection in March, defeating three other candidates. But according to Theresa Walsh, who is also the city clerk, just 19.6 per cent of eligible residents cast their vote.

"Honestly, we don't know why it was as low as it was," she said in an interview with CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.

She said turnout was abnormally low, even for a byelection, which usually sees closer to 50 per cent turnout.

But, Walsh said, based on the amount of calls, early returns and traffic on the voter portal, she believes voter turnout will be higher for the Ward 3 byelection.

She said the city is running a social media outreach campaign and ensuring the voting process is accessible.

Walsh said voting in municipal elections allows residents to have a say in the decisions that directly affect their community on a daily basis.

"It is the public transit you're taking to work, the clean water you're drinking, the recreation programs you're taking your kids to, snow clearing, all of these things," she said. 

Walsh pointed out that elections can be won by small margins. This week, candidates in British Columbia's provincial election won ridings by margins as small as 27 votes.

Five candidates are running in the Ward 3 byelection. Candidates Scott Fitzgerald, Walter Harding, Mark House, Paul Morgan, and Greg Noseworthy are running to replace former Coun. Jamie Korab, who was elected as Liberal MHA in August.

The vote-by-mail deadline was Oct. 30, but Walsh said voters can still drop their ballots in the green drop off box at city hall up until 8 p.m. on Tuesday. There will also be an in-person voting location at the Village Shopping Centre, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day.

LISTEN | The St. John's chief returning officer talks voter turnout: 

St John's Morning Show7:20How the city of St. John's is encouraging voter turnout in the Ward 3 byelection

One of the candidates contacted CBC News with concerns that the ballots may be too large for the provided envelopes. Walsh said she's heard those concerns, but she said residents can fold their ballots if necessary and their vote will still be counted.

The Ward 3 byelection takes place on the same day as a certain other race — the U.S. presidential election. Walsh said holding the byelection on the same day wasn't intentional, but she views anything that might get St. John's voters more engaged in the electoral process as a good thing.

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