Winnipeg's civic election on Wednesday had one of the lowest voter turnouts in the city's history, with only 38.2 per cent of eligible voters casting ballots.
Nearly 171,400 votes were cast in Wednesday's vote, meaning 61.8 per cent of the city's approximately 450,000 registered voters did not vote. In the 2002 civic election, 48.7 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
"I just have never really been interested in politics myself, and honestly I don't have a clue what goes on with politics," said university student Gloria Johnston on Thursday, adding that perhaps politics should be taught more at school.
Chris Adams, a senior research associate with the Probe Research polling firm, suggested the low turnout may speak to how citizens regarded the four-way contest for the mayor's job.
"When you see competition not occurring in a particular ward or constituency, we tend to see lower turnouts. Turned out it was a reflection of how Winnipeggers saw Sam Katz," Adams said Thursday.
"But when you looked at where the wards were — where there was significant races — when we look at the numbers, we start seeing higher turnouts. So competition has a huge impact on voter turnout."
Katz won the mayor's post easily. Adams said Katz may have benefited from having been in office for only two years, since being first elected in a 2004 byelection.
Demographics may also play a role in who shows up to vote, Adams said. Affluent people concerned about taxes and infrastructure tend to vote in higher numbers than those with less income and greater interest in social services, he said.
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