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Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Cowichan kids like their Green and their NDP
Student Vote: Local students take part in province-wide project mirroring provincial election vote Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
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Andrew Leong
Maple Bay elementary students Skyla Foss and Tyler Shewchuk look over a collection of pelts and hides during their visit to the Metís Camp to learn their culture at Bright Angel Park last week, during the annual spring event.
Election results available at cowichannewsleader.com Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
T
he printing press has a schedule it has to follow but fortunately News Leader Pictorial readers have other options. The newspaper you are holding may have hit the press a few hours before B.C. election polls closed last night, but the election results are available on our website, cowichannewsleader.com. Those results will be fleshed out throughout the day as reaction becomes available, with a full report available in Friday’s paper. Meanwhile, advance polling in the Cowichan
Valley riding has been stronger than early balloting in the Nanaimo-North Cowichan riding, Elections B.C. figures show. Cowichan Valley notched 1,937, 1,519, and 1,548, and 1,548 votes respectively Wednesday through Saturday day for a total of 6,552. Nanaimo-North Cowichan saw 1,500, 1,115, 1,058 and 1,148 ballots cast respectively in the past three days, for a tally of 4,821. The north riding has 40,230 registered voters. Elections B.C. doesn’t report which candidates earned those votes. Those numbers will be reported after polls close at 8 p.m. on election day May 14. With advance polls open for four days and a push by political parties to use them, turnout
by early voters jumped 28 per cent for today’s election, compared to the 2009 B.C. election. But that election ended up with an all-time low turnout of only 51 per cent of eligible voters, confirming a trend in other jurisdictions that heavy advance voting does not indicate increased voter interest. Elections B.C. reports that 380,741 votes were cast in advance polls at the 85 constituencies around B.C. That’s about 12 per cent of the more than three million people eligible to vote in the province. Heaviest turnouts were reported in Comox Valley, Vernon-Monashee, Penticton, Saanich North and the Islands, Oak Bay-Gordon Head and Parksville-Qualicum.
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owichan Valley’s incumbent NDP MLA Bill Routley returned to office Tuesday as his party swept into office with a landslide majority. And Green candidate Mayo McDonough won a landmark seat after clinching the Nanaimo-North Cowichan riding. No, these are not the official results of yesterday’s B.C. election, which was still ongoing as the News Leader Pictorial went to press yesterday. These are local results from a provincial Student Vote, held Monday across the province, including more than 20 schools in Cowichan’s two ridings. Routley, McDonough and NDP leader Adrian Dix would be thrilled if reality mirrored a pupil vote that saw the NDP earning 53 of 85 seats. Liberal Premier Christy Clark wouldn’t be so happy. She lost her Vancouver-Point Grey seat, while her party won 20 seats to the Green’s eight, while John Cummins’ B.C. Conservatives won zero seats and independent hopefuls landed four. But the real winners were some 90 students who realistically learned about elections and campaigns, then voted. To Angus Morten, an Ecole Duncan Elementary pupil, Elections B.C.’s $150,000 spent on Student Vote was taxpayer money well spent. “It’s a good idea to teach kids about the government and let them actually experience how it feels to vote, and decide which party to vote for.” Morten, 11, said he knew about balloting “and a little about the government, but I didn’t really understand (elections) at first.” He was surprised B.C. holds 85 ridings, and balloting made him a Grade 6 apathy-buster. “Apathy’s not very good because every vote counts.” more on page 4 2013 CR-V LX 2013 MODELCR-V SHOWN:LX RM3H3DES MODEL SHOWN: RM3H3DES
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