Tight race, warm weather help bump up voter turnout
Early numbers indicate reversal of dismal trend
As Albertans flocked to the polls to cast their ballot in one of the most hotly contested provincial elections in decades, expectations were high that the province could be poised to reverse the dismal historic trend in voter turnout.
While final numbers were unavailable at press time, early predictions indicate that the turnout Monday was helped by a combination of balmy weather and a competitive race that captured the attention of Albertans.
Shortly before the Conservatives declared their 12th consecutive majority government Monday night, campaign strategist Stephen Carter told reporters that he expected a bump in turnout would help the party.
“The most important thing is we were able to increase voter turnout. We knew from the beginning of this campaign that if we were able to increase voter turnout it would do two things. Number one, it would be good for us as a political party, and number two, it would be good for the province as a whole. More people voting is just good news,” he said.
In 2008, an abysmal 41 per cent of the eligible 2.4 million voters bothered to show at the polls — the lowest turn- out for a provincial election in the country.
This time around, a gripping 28-day campaign saw pollsters making dynasty-crushing predictions, including hints of a Wildrose majority, captivating the attention of Albertans.
A competitive race should improve turnout, said University of Lethbridge political scientist Harold Jansen.
“We’ve seen a competitive race for the first time since the election in 1993, which was the last time turnout reached 60 per cent,” said the voter turnout expert.
Jansen said a reasonable improvement on turnout would range anywhere from the high 40s to low 50s.
“I think we’ll see that there was an upsurge in interest and that we broke the trend that we’ve seen in every election since 1993 where turnout has steadily declined, and if we’ve reversed that, then that is a positive thing.”
Still, some parties complained that attempts at voter suppression plagued the campaign in the final days.
Elections Alberta says it is looking into complaints that fraudulent phone calls were made to voters to dissuade them from heading to the ballot box Monday.
The organization, which oversees elections in the province, has received numerous complaints of automated, “spamming” -type calls made repeatedly to annoy voters.
Several parties have alleged that fraudulent calls were made to voters in their name.