Why Vote in Civic Elections?

Why Civic Elections Matter: “It Passed” Means a Majority of Those Who Voted, Not Necessarily a Majority of the Community

ExNews.net Editorial - In local politics, large projects are often described as having “passed with a majority.” That is usually true of the people who voted.

It is much less often true of the people who were eligible to vote.

The difference matters when the decisions involve tens or hundreds of millions of dollars and lock in tax impacts for decades.

Two Greater Vernon examples show how this works in practice.

Active Living Centre (City of Vernon, 2022)

Voters were asked whether the city should borrow up to $121 million to build a major new recreation facility.

• Yes: 5,121

• No: 3,282

• Among those who voted: 60.9% Yes

  
  

Turnout was 24.4% of eligible Vernon voters (roughly 35,560 eligible electors).

• About 14% of all eligible voters cast a Yes ballot.

• About 9% of all eligible voters cast a No ballot.

• About 76% of all eligible voters did not vote.

The project moved forward because a clear majority of the people who showed up supported it. It did not have the active support of a majority of the eligible population.

Greater Vernon Cultural Centre (2018)

Greater Vernon voters were asked to approve borrowing up to $25 million toward a new multi-purpose cultural facility.

• Yes: 7,850

• No: 5,357

• Among those who voted: about 59% Yes

  
  

Roughly 13,200 people voted. Using available estimates of the Greater Vernon electorate, this again works out to roughly 14% of eligible voters actively approving the borrowing, with a similar share voting No and the large majority not voting.

Later cost increases were approved by the regional board without another full public vote.

Why this matters

Civic elections in the region routinely see turnout in the 20–30% range. When that happens, a relatively small group of voters can decide projects that will affect every taxpayer for 20–30 years.

Once approved, these decisions are rarely revisited through another full referendum, even if costs rise or priorities shift.

Showing up does not require you to support or oppose any particular project. It does mean the outcome is shaped by a broader cross-section of the community rather than by the subset of people who happen to cast ballots.

In municipal elections, that difference is often the difference between a project being decided by roughly 14% of eligible voters and one being decided by a larger share of the people who will live with the result.