B.C.’s recent provincial election recorded the lowest voter turnout in a century, with fewer than half of registered voters casting ballots, according to preliminary figures from Elections BC.
Approximately 48.1 percent of registered B.C. voters cast ballots in the Oct. 24 provincial election, the lowest turnout since records began in 1928 and down from the previous record low of 53.9 percent in 2020, according to Elections BC.
The recent decline contrasts with earlier B.C. elections, when turnout exceeded 70 percent in every provincial election from 1983 to 2001. Since then, voter participation has not surpassed approximately 62 percent.
The latest contest saw a resounding election victory for the B.C. Conservatives under interim leader Lorne Doerkson, who captured approximately 48 percent of the popular vote and ended almost a decade of NDP governance in the province. …