Regina tries to boost profile of municipal election
With the provincial election taking place just two weeks before the municipal one this fall, the City of Regina is looking at ways to curb voter fatigue and confusion.
“We need to differentiate ourselves from a provincial election,” said Mayor Michael Fougere, who has voiced concerns in the past about the municipal election getting lost in the shuffle. “People will be overwhelmed with a lot of information.”
A report from administration asking for a bigger budget for a better communications strategy to help achieve those ends was approved by executive committee at a meeting this week.
The committee agreed to increase the election budget from $929,500 in 2016 to $1.2 million. The increase accounts for inflation of expenses and a $100,000 boost for an “enhanced communication strategy.”
The city cost shares the total budget in a 50/50 split with the school boards, as per an agreement that’s been in place since 1987.
“Communications for the election will directly serve the goals of making the voting process clear for eligible voters and the running process clear for potential candidates,” said the report. “There will be increased communication efforts and information provided via web (electionsregina.ca) and social media as well as traditional media so that as many residents as possible are reached.”
The city is also revamping the voter information card sent to all households so that it looks more official and less like a flyer, as some feedback after the last election revealed. The communications strategy will also highlight the importance of engaging in a municipal election to hopefully improve voter turnout, said Fougere.
“Your civic responsibility is ... to pay attention, look at the issues and talk to your councillor and mayor about (the) issues and please come out and vote,” he said. “That is part of the message that has to come out.”
Voter turnout in the last municipal election (2016) hit a record low since 1948 at just 20 per cent.
The unofficial results listed 36,656 votes cast, out of an estimated 179,645 registered voters in the city. In the 2012 election, 51,103 people voted out of 157,269 eligible voters. The 2016 individual voter turnout represented a decrease of 14,447 voters going to the polls. This decline contrasted with the population growth of Regina estimated at two per cent per year as of 2016. As part of the report, administration recommended the status quo for all other election elements, including number of polling stations, poll hours, mailin ballots, special polls, etc. except for one. It recommended council remove the requirement to have a candidate’s occupation listed on the ballot, citing confusion over titles and difficulty fitting long titles on the ballots.
Since no one is mandated to verify the occupations declared by candidates and some candidates have put former occupations not current ones on the ballot, administration felt it prudent to remove the requirement all together.
They said it is up to each individual candidate to represent themselves the way they see fit through their campaign material, whether that’s as a former firefighter or actively practising lawyer, not through the ballot.
To help with low voter turnout and accessibility, executive committee also approved amendments to add an extra polling station in both Ward 3 and Ward 5.
The decisions made at executive committee Wednesday will face final approval at a city council meeting on Jan. 29.