City of Vancouver manager apologizes for poor planning that led to hours-long by-election waits
On Saturday, the residents of Vancouver voted in the by-election to fill two vacant city councillor seats, electing COPE candidate Sean Corr and OneCity Vancouver candidate Lucy Maloney.
However, for many voters, the experience was marked by frustration, with long lines at nearly all polling locations and wait times exceeding three hours.
By 9 p.m. — an hour after polls were scheduled to close — 15 of the 25 polling stations were still open and processing voters, as City of Vancouver staff ensured that everyone who had been in line by the 8 p.m. cutoff was still able to vote.
The unusually long lines and wait times were caused by a combination of a higher-than-usual turnout for a civic by-election, and significantly reduced capacity.
- You might also like:
- COPE and OneCity candidates win Vancouver City Council seats in by-election
- Vancouver voters face hours-long waits in line amid 50% cut in the number of by-election polling stations
- Record number of advance votes in Vancouver City Council by-election
- B.C. government's budget performance to be the weakest of peers, both domestically and internationally: forecast
- Fewer local residents visiting downtown Vancouver: report
The City of Vancouver operated 25 polling stations — 50 per cent fewer than the 50 stations used in the 2017 by-election — with no apparent capacity increase at the retained number of stations to compensate for the downsized network of voting locations.
Locations of the 50 polling stations on the main civic by-election voting day of October 14, 2017:
Map of the 50 voting locations for the Vancouver City Council by-election on Saturday, October 14, 2017. (City of Vancouver)
Locations of the 25 polling stations on the main civic by-election voting day of April 5, 2025:
Map of the 25 voting locations for the Vancouver City Council by-election on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (City of Vancouver)
In a statement issued at noon on Sunday, Paul Mochrie, the City Manager of the City of Vancouver, issued an apology to voters over the poor planning and execution that was based on false assumptions.
On Saturday afternoon, when there were escalating complaints of long lines and waits, the City’s Elections Office told Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry they based their operational planning on the low turnout of the last two civic by-elections. There was a turnout of 10.99 per cent of registered voters for the 2017 by-election, and a turnout of 10 per cent for the 1992 by-election.
In contrast, based on the completed preliminary count results just before 1 a.m. Sunday, the turnout for this by-election was 15.09 per cent, with about 67,962 ballots cast — approximately 40 per cent higher than the 48,645 ballots cast in the 2017 by-election.
Long snaking line at the Trout Lake Community Centre polling station for the Vancouver City Council by-election on April 5, 2025. (Submitted)
Long snaking line at the Hillcrest Community Centre polling station for the Vancouver City Council by-election on April 5, 2025. (Herbert Chan/Submitted)
The two days of advance voting — held only at Vancouver City Hall — followed the operational model used in the 2017 by-election. It was also marked by long lines and waits, with an advance voting record of 7,671 ballots cast over two days — up by 84 per cent compared to 2017.
After the issues with advance voting, the City’s Elections Office mobilized an additional 45 staff for the main voting day on Saturday.
“I want to acknowledge that voting wait times that many electors experienced yesterday were unacceptable. The extended wait times at many voting places reflected flawed planning assumptions for this by-election that informed staff decisions and the plan presented to Council. Recognizing the effort by the City’s elections team to promote and execute this plan, it was clearly insufficient to accommodate the electorate in accessing an efficient voting process,” said Mochrie, the head of the municipal government’s civil service, in a statement on Sunday.
“These shortcomings are deeply regrettable and I apologize to all voters impacted by delays, as well as to candidates and civic parties.”
Long snaking line at the Thunderbird Community Centre polling station for the Vancouver City Council by-election on April 5, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)
Long snaking line at the Roundhouse Community Centre polling station for the Vancouver City Council by-election on April 5, 2025. (Submitted)
Civic elections are independently planned and organized by City staff.
Despite being allocated a significantly higher budget than in the 2017 by-election, this year’s vote saw poorer performance and outcomes.
This 2025 by-election was provided with a budget of up to $2 million, including $740,000 to establish an election office, $150,000 for election workers, $55,000 for voting places and supplies, $40,000 for vote by mail operations, $240,000 for communications, $600,000 for voting equipment and technology, and $175,000 for a contingency fund.
For the 2017 by-election, the City spent $1.2 million — below its allocated budget of $1.535 million.
By contrast, the 2022 general civic election cost $4.4 million, which funded the operation of 82 polling stations on the main voting day — down from 114 in the 2018 general civic election, and 117 in 2014.
Long snaking line at the Hillcrest Community Centre polling station for the Vancouver City Council by-election on April 5, 2025. (Submitted)
Mochrie vowed to avoid repeating the organizational and execution mistakes in future civic elections, noting that City staff are “committed to ensure that lessons from yesterday’s by-election inform the planning and execution of the 2026 general municipal election and all future City of Vancouver election efforts.”
“The conduct of elections is one of our responsibilities as a local government that does not present a margin for error. Our role is to provide a voting process that is efficient, accessible, and reflective of the trust that voters and elected officials place in the civil service to support the electoral process. We will do better moving forward,” continued the City Manager.
The next general civic election is scheduled for October 2026.
Map of the 82 polling stations on the main voting day of the October 2022 general civic election. (City of Vancouver)
- You might also like:
- COPE and OneCity candidates win Vancouver City Council seats in by-election
- Vancouver voters face hours-long waits in line amid 50% cut in the number of by-election polling stations
- Record number of advance votes in Vancouver City Council by-election
- B.C. government's budget performance to be the weakest of peers, both domestically and internationally: forecast
- Fewer local residents visiting downtown Vancouver: report