Editorial: Too much at stake to forfeit ballot

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When are long lineups a good thing? When it’s Edmontonians queued up to vote for mayor, councillor and school trustee.

While those waiting longer than desired may have thought otherwise, it is heartening to have seen voters flocking to polling stations during the 10 days of advance voting that closed on Wednesday. Edmontonians — more than 55,000 strong — showed up. Preliminary figures indicate the turnout was at least double the total from four years earlier. That’s good news for democracy.

The bad news is that the 2017 municipal election set a particularly low bar; total voter turnout was 31.5 per cent. Nearly seven out of 10 eligible Edmontonians didn’t exercise their right to have a say in who would oversee the level of government that most directly affects their daily lives from roads and transit to parks and property taxes. Those same people also didn’t weigh in on who served on the school boards governing their children’s education.

Unfortunately, apathy appears to be the rule in Edmonton civic elections. Over the last 25 years, turnout has fluctuated from a “high” of 52 per cent in 1992 to a low of 27 per cent in 2007. Consider that even last month’s federal election — considered by many to be unnecessary and pointless  — mustered a local turnout of 62.2 per cent — topping the national average of 58.44 per cent.

The question now is whether this election’s promising advance turnout is a mirage or a harbinger.

Was it fear of COVID-19 that spurred many diehard voters to avoid polling stations on election day? Besides a public health crisis, Edmontonians face other potential deterrents to voting: election fatigue, a lack of official candidate forums, the distraction of the UCP tacking on a concurrent Senate election and a provincewide referendum on equalization and daylight time.

Forget that voting is a hard-won democratic right and a civic duty; there’s too much at stake in this election for two-thirds of eligible Edmontonians to forfeit their ballots.

It’s the city’s most pivotal election in recent memory with a wide-open race for the mayor’s chair, as many as five leading contenders for the job, and a number of competitive ward races. Who gets elected will largely determine how the city and school boards tackle a myriad of momentous issues over the next four years, including the ongoing fight against COVID-19, economic recovery, downtown revitalization, relations with the provincial and federal governments and budgetary pressures.

Hats off to the thousands of Edmontonians who trekked out to advance polls in the 2021 civic election. Now, it’s up to the rest of us to do our part and vote on Monday.

Local editorials are the consensus opinion of the Journal’s editorial board, comprising Colin McGarrigle, Dave Breakenridge, Sarah Bugden and Bill Mah.