A third of registered voters have cast ballots in transit plebiscite

With one month to go in Metro Vancouver’s transit plebiscite, over a third of voters have already cast ballots.

Elections BC said today that over 537,000 voting packages have been returned to them, about 34 per cent of the 1.56 million sent to registered voters in Metro Vancouver.

Of those, 455,220 have been processed.

Tiny Belcarra, with 504 registered voters, has the highest turnout thus far, as 38.1 per cent of eligible citizens have had their ballots processed.

But of municipalities with at least 10,000 registered voters, Delta leads the way at 33.7 per cent, and the City of Langley is last at 21.2 per cent.

The three largest cities – Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby – are bunched together at 29.5, 28.9 and 28.9 per cent, respectively.

GRAPH: Full comparison of turnout stats as of April 29

Elections BC must receive all ballots by 8 p.m. on Friday, May 29.

Voters are being asked whether they support a 0.5 per cent “Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement Tax,” which would help fund a variety of new transit projects – including a new Pattullo Bridge and extension of the Millenium Line to Broadway and Arbutus – in addition to general maintenance and improvements on existing roads.

The full question can be found here.