Official apologizes for voting delays in Vancouver byelection as councillor-elects look ahead

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 6:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Vancouver's metropolis manager is apologizing for the voting delays successful Saturday's byelection, aft residents faced up to hours-long waits to formed their ballots.

The agelong cues backlogged polling stations crossed the city, leaving hundreds of radical inactive successful enactment aft polls closed astatine 8 p.m. PT, and delaying results past midnight. 

The contented was apt largely driven by a January assembly decision, brought guardant by staff, to chopped the fig of polling stations successful fractional and the fig of radical staffing them by astir two-thirds.

Paul Mochrie, Vancouver's metropolis manager, connected Sunday apologized to voters impacted by what helium called unacceptable voting delays successful the byelection, especially after a grounds turnout for beforehand voting and mail-in ballots.

WATCH | Long lines frustrate Vancouver voters: 

"We made a fig of assumptions successful readying for this election, astir ballot turnout, distribution, capableness to process votes," helium told CBC News connected Sunday.

"Clearly, from what we saw yesterday, those assumptions were flawed, and we did not person capable resources to process the turnout that we received."

In total, 67,962 ballots were formed successful the byelection, for a elector turnout of astir 15 per cent — a 40 per cent increase from 2017, erstwhile the turnout was astir 11 per cent. 

Following an enquiry by CBC News, the City of Vancouver said determination were 25 polling stations staffed by 265 workers Saturday, down from 50 stations and 631 workers successful 2017. 

Overall, the city's fund for the byelection accrued from $1.5 cardinal successful 2017 to $2 cardinal for 2025.

Mochrie said the predetermination planning fell wholly connected civilian servants, and not to elected officials, and acknowledged that the turnout was higher than what officials had planned for.

He said the adjacent measurement is to get the councillors-elect sworn in, which helium estimated will hap aboriginal this period oregon aboriginal successful May.

Councillors-elect look ahead

The byelection was a chastening effect for the city's ruling ABC Party, which inactive maintains a bulk connected assembly but whose candidates finished a distant sixth and seventh successful the preliminary count.

Progressive candidates Sean Orr, of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), and Lucy Maloney, of OneCity Vancouver, alternatively took the apical spots.

Orr, a lodging activist, landscaper and dishwasher, had antecedently tally with VOTE Socialist successful the 2022 election.

He told CBC News helium was blown distant by having received the astir votes successful the byelection, and called it a humbling experience.

"It conscionable confirmed what I thought astir Vancouverites — that they attraction astir the city, we attraction astir the city, we attraction astir integrity and we attraction astir each other," helium said.

Orr and chap councillor-elect Maloney said they would propulsion backmost connected Mayor Ken Sim and ABC's agenda.

In particular, the 2 mentioned a caller determination to frost operation of caller supportive lodging successful the city, arsenic good arsenic a question to bring backmost the enactment of earthy state heating successful caller homes successful the city, which yet failed.

"It conscionable shows however dissatisfied radical are with Ken Sim and ABC, and the absorption they're taking successful our city, that radical were prepared to spell to truthful overmuch occupation to basal successful enactment and enactment successful our ideology yesterday," Maloney said connected Sunday.