High interest and 62% cut in staffing lead to major lines in Vancouver byelection

Long lineups are being reported at polling stations across Vancouver Saturday as voters cast their ballots in a two-seat council byelection.

CBC News received multiple emails from readers who complained of hours-long wait times at their voting locations. 

Interest in the byelection has been high, with a record turnout for advance voting and mail-in ballots in a byelection. The vote, which will fill two empty seats on council, is seen as a referendum on Mayor Ken Sim and his ruling ABC party.

In a statement Saturday afternoon, a city spokesperson attributed the long lines to "significantly higher voter turnout."

The city had mobilized 45 more staff members for Saturday's vote than initially planned. The statement also said the city deployed additional tabulators over the course of the day to support the busiest voting locations.

But in a January meeting, Vancouver councillors approved a staff motion that laid out the budget and staffing plans for the upcoming byelection, reducing the number of polling stations compared to the 2017 byelection from 50 to 25 and the number of workers in the field from 631 to 265. 

In that meeting, city clerk Katrina Leckovic told council multiple times that around 1,250 workers were hired for the 2017 byelection, but the City of Vancouver later told CBC News she misspoke.

Councillors approved the plan from staff unanimously, with only Peter Meiszner expressing serious concerns about the large staffing drop.

"Why are we doing this? It seems like we're making it more difficult," he said at the time.

Leckovic said the large cuts to staffing would allow them to put more money into promoting mail-in voting.

Following an inquiry by CBC News, the City of Vancouver said there were approximately 265 staff in the field working the byelection, which included the additional 45 hired after advanced voting.  

Overall, the city's budget for the byelection increased from $1.5 million in 2017 to $2 million for 2025. 

Voters report more turnout

Kate Bird, 71, said she had to wait two hours to vote at Hillcrest Community Centre on Saturday — something she said she's never experienced before in decades of voting — and even faced a wait while using the seniors' priority line.

She said she saw people turning away from the long line to find other places to vote, or simply to give up, but many people doggedly stood their ground and waited for their chance to have their voice heard.

"I'm really thrilled to see so many people, and lots of young people and lots of people standing there with kids, you know, getting out for a byelection," she said.

"I think it's very exciting that so many people are out voting today. All ages, all ethnicities, everything. It's great."

WATCH | Long lineups for byelection voting: 

High turnout and 62% staffing cut lead to major lines in Vancouver byelection

2 days ago

Duration 1:53

Long lineups were reported at polling stations across Vancouver on Saturday as voters cast ballots in a two-seat city council byelection. In a statement Saturday afternoon, a city spokesperson attributed the delays to “significantly higher voter turnout.” Justin McElroy breaks down what led to the lengthy waits.

A spokesperson for the city said a priority access line was available for seniors, voters with disabilities, pregnant people and people with young children.

"Election officials are actively monitoring the lines and encouraging eligible voters to use this service," they said in a statement. "In addition, curbside voting is available for those unable to enter the polling station."

Alan Zisman, who turned out to vote at Strathcona Community Centre, said there seemed to be more interest in Saturday's vote than other byelections.

"I'm surprised at the number of people who are coming out, frankly," he said. "It seems like a reaction to the current mayor and council, though the results will show whether I'm right or not."

A city spokesperson added that the election office is "heartened" to see higher turnout than in previous years.

The last byelection in the city was held in 2017, when only about 11 per cent of voters came out. The NPA's Hector Bremner was elected with 13,372 votes.

The City of Vancouver says that in two days of advance voting for Saturday's byelection, 7,671 votes were cast while 6,400 mail-in ballots had been requested.

Ballots cast in advance voting were an 84 per cent increase over 2017.

Voters can watch live results on Saturday night after 8 p.m. by visiting vancouver.ca/vote.