Council looks at options to boost civic election turnout

What began Tuesday as a pitch to provide free transit rides on civic election day soon morphed into a council call for a potential package of reforms to compel more voters to the ballot box.

Coun. Evan Woolley sought council support on a plan to waive transit fees during next October’s municipal election, but the idea met with a tepid response from his colleagues who feared the move would do little to increase the turnout.

“There were polls in the city (in the 2013 election) where it wasn’t uncommon to see voter turnout less than 25 per cent,” Woolley said, noting the final turnout of just over 39 per cent was also less than inspiring.

“Council and administration should be talking about what we can do to close that gap.”

Council heard the program would cost Calgary Transit about $75,000 in lost revenue, a figure that troubled some councillors.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he’s not sure offering free fares would have much effect, but noted the city needs to do more to get voters, particularly younger ones, to the polls.

He added an administration report commissioned following the last civic election aimed at improving voter turnout was not satisfactory, and Nenshi said that now might be the time to consider options prior to next fall’s vote.

Among the suggestions the mayor is asking bureaucrats to consider are transit incentives, offering incentives to young voters and students, creating central election stations on election day, expanding the city’s transit polling bus program and adding election day polling stations to the city’s post-secondary institutions.