Low Voter Turnout in Kelowna

Every single poll in Kelowna had new Mayor Colin Basran in the lead over Sharon Shepherd, but one voting station had her in the lead.

Colin Basran with his wife at his party headquarters (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

The unofficial results from all stations including advanced polls, mail in ballots and special voting have been released. Basran took the lead in every station expect for special voting, Shepherd garnered 46 per cent of the vote over Basran. Voter turnout was low for the 2014 municipal election, with a total of 29,661 votes cast, with the estimated number of eligible voters at 99,000.

Photo Credit: City of Kelowna

The strongest support for Basran was seen at the Rutland Senior Secondary School location, he amassed a total of 1,421 votes there, while Shepherd received 714. Advanced voting at the City Hall location also had Basran well ahead of Shepherd with 2,767 people voting for him, compared to the 1,811 votes for Shepherd.

Sharon Shepherd at her party headquarters (Photo Credit: Facebook)

Advanced voting in Kelowna was heavy but overall just over 29 per cent of eligible voters took the time to cast a ballot. Voter turnout in Kelowna was lower than it was in the previous municipal election; in 2011 33 per cent people cast a ballot. Summerland saw higher numbers this year over 2011, with nearly 51 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot, in 2011 it was 36 per cent.

West Kelowna also had a higher turnout for 2014 with almost 32 per cent of people casting a ballot; in 2011 that number was 26 per cent. The community of Kitimat had the highest voter turnout in the province with 66 per cent of people taking to the polls.

All numbers are preliminary until made official by Chief Election Officers.