Once the final numbers are in, both Prince George-area ridings will likely see a slight uptick in voter turnout from Tuesday's election.
Although absentee and mail-in ballots have yet to be counted, preliminary results from Elections B.C. show that a few more votes were cast in Prince George-Mackenzie and Prince George-Valemount this year compared with 2009, while the number of registered voters held relatively steady.
According to the initial count from Elections B.C., there were 17,429 votes cast in Prince George-Mackenzie, which is equivalent to 53 per cent of registered voters casting a ballot. Four years ago, the turnout was 53.7 per cent but that was after absentee and mail-in votes were factored in.
In Prince George-Valemount, there were 17,620 votes counted on Tuesday night, for an initial turnout of 50.5 per cent. Four years ago, the total turnout in the riding was 52.0 per cent.
Absentee and mail-in votes accounted for just under five per cent of ballots cast in both local ridings four years ago.
Although the numbers this year are similar to the 2009 election, they still pale in comparison to what turnout was like in the past. For instance, in 1983 voter turnout province-wide was 70 per cent.
Karen McDowell, who ran for the Green party in Prince George-Mackenzie, said the continuing trend of low voter turnout shows people aren't satisfied with the current system.
"The biggest thing I learned [during the campaign] is that there is an obvious, blatant, 100 per cent need for democratic reform," she said. "When I'm going door-to-door, a consistent comment to me is that I need to vote Green, but I really don't want to see 'x' in power."
McDowell would like to see some sort of democratic reform, like a transferable ballot or have seats set aside for proportional representation.
A proposal to change B.C.'s election process was on the ballot four years ago, but voters rejected the plan to use a single-transferable ballot. Only 39 per cent of voters supported the plan, well short of the 60 per cent threshold set by the government. Additionally, the idea only received 50 per cent support in eight of 85 ridings.
In 2005, a referendum on electoral reform received the support of 57.7 per cent of voters, just shy of the 60 per cent threshold.
Despite the two failed referendums, McDowell said she will continue to make the case for the issue by writing letters to Prince George-Mackenzie Liberal MLA Mike Morris and Green party MLA Andrew Weaver.
"Democratic reform is required, we need to get people involved in democracy and they're not involved right now," McDowell said. "The consensus is they don't feel like their voice is going to be heard. They fell like they're going to be wasting their vote."
Provincially, Elections BC pegs the preliminary voter turnout at 52 per cent, but that will rise once all the ballots are counted. In 2009, the final voter turnout was 51 per cent.
