8% of transit plebiscite ballots returned so far

Dec 19 2017, 10:44 pm

Elections B.C. has released its second update on the number of Metro Vancouver residents who have returned their transit plebiscite ballots.

As of April 8, during the first three weeks of voting, eight per cent or 124,927 ballots were returned and counted by the elections office.

Here is the full breakdown for municipal jurisdictions counted to date:

  • City of Burnaby: 5.3% – 7,595 of 143,780
  • City of Coquitlam: 5.3% – 4,568 of 86,197
  • City of Richmond: 12.2% – 15,223 of 124,295
  • City of Surrey: 8.1% – 23,919 of 294,054
  • City of Vancouver: 17.8% – 73,622 of 414,698

This is up from last week’s count of four per cent or 63,663 ballots.

In total, over 1.55 million residents across the region’s 23 municipal jurisdictions are registered to vote in the plebiscite. Eligible voters who have not received their ballots in the mail have until May 15 to register to vote and request for a ballot package.

Ballots must be returned to Elections B.C. no later than midnight on May 29 in order to be counted.

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The ballot question asks voters to approve a 0.5 per cent regional increase in the provincial sales tax (from 7.0 to 7.5%) to help fund the Mayors’ Council’s $7.5 billion, 10-year plan for transportation improvements.

This includes an underground extension of the SkyTrain Millennium Line along Broadway, a light rail transit network in Surrey, a new seismically safe Pattullo Bridge, improved night bus service, the use of a third SeaBus and a significant increase in bus network frequency, including the introduction of 11 new B-Line rapid bus routes.

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