According to the City of Airdrie, just under a quarter of eligible voters turned out for the 2017 municipal election.

Returning Officer Sharon Pollyck said Airdrie saw 24 percent voter turnout this year.

"Voter turnout was quite strong. Overall, through all of the votes, we had 10,976 people go through, and that is 2.7 times greater than what we saw in 2013."

Pollyck explained Airdrie saw the most ever number of votes, due to increased population. However, 2017 did not bring a record turnout for the percentage of voters.

"In 2010, we had 31.5 percent voter turnout, but of course at that time that equated to about 8,500 voters."

In 2013, only 18 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. Many involved in this year's election hoped that Airdrie would see between 30 and 50 percent turnout. That hope was strengthened by strong showings at both advanced voting days.

Pollyck said as a returning officer, she always hopes people will take advantage of their right to vote.

"I think with what we saw at the advanced votes, we were hoping it would be higher. For me, it is always disappointing when we see lower numbers in our voter turnout."

 

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