Markham sees first decline in voter turnout since online voting launched

Turnout for 2022 municipal election fell to to 32 per cent after record high of 38.6 per cent in 2018

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 1, 2022
Irene Wong

Voter turnout for the 2022 Markham Municipal Election is the first fallback since online voting rolled out in the city. Only 32 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots this year, seven per cent of registered voters cast a paper ballot, while 93 per cent cast an online ballot.

In comparison, 38.6 per cent of voters exercised their democratic right in 2018 and 36.8 per cent in 2014.

Markham was the first local municipality in Canada to offer online voting in 2003. Ever since voter turnout climbed up from 26.7 per cent to 36 per cent in both 2006 and 2010.

This year, Elections Markham said they introduced a range of customer service enhancements, including multilingual voter information, voter helpline engaging 150 languages and 24/7 artificial intelligence voting assistant, to help break down barriers and make voting more accessible. The city also offered the longest running online voting program. However, voter turnout dropped 6.6 percentage points from the height in 2018.

Kammy Wang, who refused to be identified on camera, has resided in Ward 2 for more than 20 years. This is the first time she abstained from voting.

She used “paratroopers” to describe the newcomers vying for the councillor seat vacated in Ward 2 when the 12-year councillor Alan Ho left to contest a regional council seat.

“I don’t know any of the candidates. I did not see them in the community before the election. I don’t know who to vote for.”

Low turnout rate has also provoked discussions on the neighbourhood social media app Nextdoor. Voter apathy, non-stop elections, and even Diwali has been listed as reasons for the disappointed voter turnout.

Election Markham continues to work on more statistics of the 2022 municipal election including ward turnout rate, which may give a better picture of the numbers related to the election.

It also announces the certified results for the election. Here is a look at the new Markham council:

Mayor: Frank Scarpitti
Regional Councillor:
Michael Chan
Alan Ho
Jim Jones
Joe Li
Ward 1 Councillor: Keith Irish
Ward 2 Councillor: Ritch Lau
Ward 3 Councillor: Reid McAlpine
Ward 4 Councillor: Karen Rea
Ward 5 Councillor: Andrew Keyes
Ward 6 Councillor: Amanda Yeung Collucci
Ward 7 Councillor: Juanita Nathan
Ward 8 Councillor: Isa Lee
English Public Trustee (York Region District School Board)
Wards 1 & 8: Jenny Chen
Wards 2 & 6: Ron Lynn
Wards 3 & 4: Ed Law
Wards 5 & 7: Michael Chen
English Catholic Trustee (York Catholic District School Board)
Wards 1, 2, 3 & 6: Carol Cotton
Wards 4, 5, 7 & 8: Frank Alexander