Voter turnout was down in both 91原创 City and Township this year, despite high-profile candidates and a host of serious issues, ranging from crime and homelessness to transit and housing affordability.

In 91原创 City just 3,778 total ballots were cast, down substantially from the last municipal election in 2018 when 4,891 ballots were cast.

It amounted to 18 per cent of 20,538 registered voters, half the average municipal election turnout in B.C. of 37 per cent.

Close to half the 91原创 City ballots were cast in four advance polls, three at the Timms Centre and one at the 91原创 Seniors Resources Society, with 1,442 people voting, up slightly from 1,368 in the 2018 advance polls.

There were 40 mail-in ballots and eight votes cast in a special ballot at one seniors facility.

On election day, voting took place at Timms.

In 91原创 Township, 25,936 ballots were cast, a turnout of 27 per cent of the registered voters, who numbered 95,934 on election day.

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That鈥檚 barely up from the 25,747 people who voted in 2018, despite the fact that thousands of new residents have moved to 91原创 in the past four years.

There were 249 requests to vote by mail, but just 143 of those ballots were received, according to Township chief elections officer Darlene Foxgord. There were also 10 special voting locations 鈥� these are usually set up in seniors homes to allow people who can鈥檛 get to the polls in person to vote.

That low turnout in the Township and City came despite high-profile candidates. In the City, mayor-elect Nathan Pachal, an incumbent councillor, defeated the previous mayor, Val van den Broek, after a term that saw van den Broek censured by her own council.

In the Township, there were four candidates for mayor, all with a significant political profile, including two incumbent council members, a former 91原创 East MLA, and a former two-term councillor.

Yet voting decreased as a percentage of eligible voters.

KPU political science instructor Ross Michael Pink said the decline in voting should be very concerning for local leaders.

鈥淭his is a wake-up call,鈥� he said.

Political scientists have been studying voter turnout for the last 40 to 50 years, he said.

鈥淚n every decade, voter turnout has declined,鈥� said Pink.

Surveys of voters, particularly those 35 and under, have shown they believe their votes don鈥檛 matter, and the system is corrupt.

Older people who don鈥檛 vote also probably hold similar views, but they鈥檙e most prominent among the young, Pink said.

The danger is that democracy is lost, because only a tiny fraction of voters choose to get involved.

鈥淒emocracy loses when people aren鈥檛 engaged and informed about the issues,鈥� said Pink.

He said governments have to tackle issues of low voter turnout.