REGINA - While there are still too many people staying home, election officials in Regina are pleased that more people did cast their ballots in the 2024 municipal vote.
According to official numbers released Thursday at Regina City Hall there was an overall voter turnout of 26 per cent, up about five per cent from 2020. Out of an estimated 204,832 eligible voters in Regina, 52,949 people voted.
In additional statistics, there were a total of 15,190 votes cast in the advance polls, up slightly from 2020, and 2,457 mail in ballots were cast which is a decrease from 2020. There had been over 3,000 requests for mail in ballots.
There were also 1,695 special polls ballots cast. As for Election Day itself, a total of 33,607 ballots were cast.
Those numbers were released at 1 p.m. on Thursday, at the same time that the city officially declared the winners of the 2024 municipal vote. Chad Bachynski was officially declared as elected as the new Mayor of Regina along with all of the new councillors and School Board trustees.
There was no change in any of the winners in the official results compared to the final unofficial totals from election night. While there were tight races in Wards One and Two, there were no requests made for a recount as of Thursday, although it was acknowledged there had been inquiries about it. There is also still time for a request for a recount to happen.
City Clerk and Returning Officer Jim Nicol spoke to reporters about the voter turnout, which he characterized as “great small steps.”
He also acknowledged the stories and comments about people who waited in line. There had been reports of people waiting upwards of a half hour or an hour at multiple different polling locations in the city on Election Day Nov. 13, but Nicol largely attributed that to more people turning out to vote.
“It's not the worst thing that can happen, at least to a returning officer, when we get increased voter turnout,” Nicol said.
“We have a long ways to go, I'd respectfully say, but to increase it five per cent over the last election, I think speaks to both the quality and the issues that people were engaged in, and a big kudos to our communications staff who cut through all the noise about various elections and were able to distinguish the city election from the recent provincial one.”
The competitive mayor’s race with 11 candidates on the ballot was cited as a factor. Nicol said turnout was “always dependent on the quality of candidates. A spirited mayoralty race always adds some spark to things.”
“But am I sitting here saying, woo-hoo, we did a great job, we got 26 per cent? Yeah, great small steps, but we do have a ways to go. And, you know, when 20 to 25 per cent of a population the size of Regina is voting and making decisions on matters, it does beg the question, what are the other 75 per cent thinking or doing? But it's not for me to ask or answer. I'm just musing now as a person.”
One issue has been with both the provincial and municipal elections being so close in proximity, with the provincial election held Oct. 28 and the municipal vote just over two weeks later on Nov. 13. Nicol acknowledged this was an issue with people fatigued by the number of elections.
“It has been our position that the close proximity of the two elections is very problematic,” Nicol said.
“It's voter fatigue, it's worker fatigue. And it's just a clutter of information out there. And fortunately or unfortunately, we're also aligned with the four-year presidential election and all the noise that covers... Council made its position known to the province. So did other municipalities. The province, in its wisdom, chose to keep things the way it is.”
Nicol said he imagines there may be some interest in pushing forward again on that issue again, with the city possibly seeking to have the two elections spaced out more.
“That's not for me to say. But certainly, if they ask the returning officers, we would suggest that having a separation of a significant time would greatly enhance our ability to get workers. A number of workers who work for the province this election would come and work for us, but they're exhausted too.
They're long days. They have to take lots of training. A separation of time, I think, would be good, but it's not my decision to make.”
As for whether the long lines delayed results from coming in, Nicol said it only delayed the counts in the sense that “those polling stations that were having to stay open couldn't report until everything was done.”
“But I think the reality is there were a lot of them, and there were some long lines. I know we took some criticism from various sources about how come this line is not moving fast, et cetera, et cetera. Again, I respectfully say it's not the worst thing that we hear because that's a great sign that people are engaged. I got notes from family and friends saying, you know, 'how come I'm waiting so long?'
"Again, I'm not chiding anybody, but we also provided four days of advanced polls and mail-in ballot applications. But, you know, maybe people only became engaged in the last few days of the election, which is great.”
Nicol also noted it had been a “beautiful day” on election day, compared to the snowdrifts and windstorms on Election Day in 2020.
“So, yeah, we would encourage people, again, if you think you're not going to be around on election day, please take advantage of the other opportunities.”
