Council looking to public on why they don't vote

Kelowna Council has decided to hold off on sending off recommendations on the local electoral process until they hear from the voters themselves.

The province is looking for suggestions from municipalities how to improve the existing Local Government Election Act.

In addition to civic staff's proposed changes to boost voter turnout, Mayor Sharon Shepherd says she's interested in discussing BC's voting age.

"I know that was very controversial at UBC-M, but we had that discussion of whether it should be 16 or 18.  We made it 18."

A number of Councillors piped up with other things they'd change in the electoral process.

City Councillor Kevin Craig says getting a mail-in ballot is a tight time-crunch.  He suggests the province consider printing blank ballots instead of waiting until the candidate list is confirmed.

"I think... someone - if they know well in advance that they won't be there - they can still be directed to the city's website to find out who are the candidates, and they can simply write in their vote."

City Councillor Graeme James says he also wants to see the requirements to run for Council much higher than the current two nominations.

"I'd like to see a minimum 25 signatures.  If you can't get that, then I don't think you should be running."

The city will undergo a public consultation process before making any recommendations to the province.  Council will also discuss deposit and nomination requirements for municipal candidates at a later date.

Denise Wong - Kelowna