Municipal election now in the homestretch

What local voters need to know Only one week left until the municipal election. What voters need to know heading into the home stretch. Bryan Bicknell reports.

Voters have just one week to decide who they’re voting for, but many haven’t found time to look into how or where to vote, never mind the candidates’ platforms.

With the campaign now in the home stretch, the next few days present an all-important final opportunity for candidates to make their pitch, according to Fanshawe College political scientist Matt Farrell.

He says election campaigns can be divided into phases.

“Summertime, not a lot happens, sometimes candidates are slow to get their campaigns moving. By Labour Day you’ve got that unofficial kickoff. And now we’re in the homestretch. This is where things really start to pick up in terms of candidates making their last minute pitches, getting around to see voters, and the media. The media plays an important role in generating interest.”

Voter turnout in London in the 2018 election was 39 per cent.

While it’s the level of government that affects us most directly, municipal elections have traditionally had the lowest voter turnout.

Farrell says there’s good reason for that.

“Political parties are big information short-cuts to voters. When you may not know a lot about the campaign at least you can default on your party preference, who you voted for last time. That’s missing at the municipal level, and so it’s a little more costly in terms of time for voters to take an interest in the issues, to try and research who’s running, and where they vote, and all those kinds of things.”

Polls open at 10 a.m. Monday Oct. 24, and close at 8 p.m.

Information on how to vote and who’s running can be found on CTV London's election page and the City of London website.