Advance polls garner 6.54 per cent of eligible voters’ ballots in Montreal
Just one week before the municipal election, advance polls garnered 6.54 per cent of Montrealers’ votes by Sunday evening.
Citizens lined up at the Sainte-Catherine d’Alexandrie community centre on Amherst Street to get their votes in nearly a week early. Residents of 900 municipalities across the province were also able to vote in advance polls starting today.
Some of those who showed up early at the community centre were surprised at the long queues of people — on a rainy day, too — waiting to fill out their ballots.
Though avoiding queues was the precise reason some wanted to vote in the advance polls, others said they felt voting early was an important way to make sure their voice would be heard.
“Everybody should vote. If we want some changes, we have to vote,” said Francoise Cabana, who was voting early because he will be out of town on the official election day, Nov. 5.
Another early voter, Andrew Chapman, agreed, saying he believes all citizens should exercise their right to vote and promote the candidate that best represents their ideals.
“This is a great privilege in living in the society that we live in, and it would be a great disservice to the democratic process to stay home and not vote,” Chapman said.
For Tristan Boudreault, the decision to vote in the advance polls was mostly motivated by the prospect of saving time by avoiding long lines.
À 20 h, Élection Montréal confirme un taux de participation de 6,54%. #polmtl #MTL2017
“I was betting on that, for the line to be shorter, but actually the line is long,” Boudreault said at the polling station. “I think a lot of people came even though it was raining.”
Voter turnout has been on the rise in Montreal in the past three municipal elections, yet it was still low in 2013, capping at 43 per cent.
But Boudreault says he can understand why some choose not to cast their ballot.
“A lot of people don’t see the impact their vote would have, so they don’t feel they’re in a position to [make] a wise decision,” he said, commenting on Montreal politics.
Candidates make an appearance
Leader of the official opposition Valérie Plante showed up to the centre in the afternoon as part of her last campaign push before next week’s election.
