Today’s Poll

Kootenay Community Voter Challenge

Timothy Schafer
By Timothy Schafer
August 11th, 2015

A federal election is approaching and the municipal government will be doing its part to make sure Nelson has a strong voter turnout.

City council voted in favour of participating in the Kootenay Community Voters’ Challenge in its regular council meeting Monday night, a move that will see mayor and councilors challenging other communities to raise voter participation at the polls.

As well, council voted to use the city’s website and its Facebook page to help promote the challenge.

Representatives of the Kootenay Community Voter’s Challenge took time last month to discuss with council how to increase democratic interest and engagement, and invite younger citizens and non-voters to engage in the whole democratic process.

Through the Challenge, other communities in the region will be challenged to see who can most increase voter turn out from the previous election in 2011. Nelson came in at 62 per cent of eligible voters casting an ‘X,’ four per cent below the provincial average of 66 per cent.

“I think we think of ourselves as above average of engaged in the political process and we aren’t,” said Challenge representative Kiara Lynch said last month.

She said the idea would be for Mayor Deb Kozak (or city councilors) to challenge other municipal government leaders in the Kootenay and Boundary regions to turn up their voter turn out, leaving the option for other communities to join in afterwards.

The venture is entirely non-partisan; it is about encouraging voting, regardless of how one votes, said Lynch.

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