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Only 33% of eligible voters show up to vote in Penticton

It’s a drop from the 41% turnout in 2018
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Voter turnout was abysmal in Penticton with only 33% of eligible voters turning out to the polls for the 2022 municipal election. (City of Penticton)

Pentictonites may have a new mayor and council, but overall they failed to come out and do their civic duty as turnout at the polls was abysmal for the 2022 election.

Only 33 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in the city’s elections which is 10,115 out of a total 30,278 eligible voters.

That is a drop from 2018’s election, when 41 per cent of voters showed up to make their voices heard. That year there were 10,883 votes cast out of a total 26,502 voters.

The population growth of 3,500 voters failed to translate into an increased number of voters in 2022’s election, which saw a number of incumbents rejected at the polls.

A number of political newcomers either received seats at council, such as Ryan Graham and Amelia Boultbee, or came close to a seat, as mayoral candidate Jason Reynen did with his second-place finish, 219 votes away from winner Julius Bloomfield.

Other communities in the regional also saw drops in turnout, including Summerland, which saw 3,587 ballots were cast, or 36.36 per cent of the 9,866 eligible voters in the community in 2022 compared to a 45.6 per cent turnout in 2018.

The Town of Oliver saw a mere 852 voters show up at the polls, perhaps uninterested over the fact Mayor Martin Johansen was acclaimed, out of a possible 4,149 eligible voters in 2022. Out of 3,743 eligible voters in 2018 there were 2,118 who voted, which equates to 56 per cent.

Osoyoos on the other hand saw their turnout improve, with 44 per cent turnout or 2,101 votes from a possible 4,769 in 2022, compared to 38 per cent or 1593 votes out of a possible 4,120 in 2018.

READ MORE: Penticton elects new mayor, only 2 incumbents re-elected

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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