Do you have thoughts on the 2018 civic election? If so, the City of New Westminster would like to hear from you.
In an effort to inform and improve future elections, the city has launched a survey seeking feedback about people’s experiences with the city’s communication methods, experiences at voting locations, experiences with election signs and opinions on mail-in ballots and voter cards. The survey, running in February and March, takes about 15 minutes to complete.
To take the survey, go to http://tinyurl.com/NewWestminster-election-survey,
When receiving a staff report with the official results of the 2018 local election in November, council directed staff to report back on issues arising during the recent election campaign.
“What I would like to see back from staff is a bit of a report card on how the election went and how it went from the point of view of the public,” Coun. Mary Trentadue said in November. “I think that all of us did a lot of campaigning and talked to a lot of people in three months. There are some things that I heard often. I guess one of them that I’ll just point out was the voter cards.”
While New Westminster historically hasn’t sent out voter cards for civic elections, Trentadue said it was an issue raised during the election campaign.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said the three topics that came up during the campaign centred around voter cards, absentee ballots and issues around election signs, so staff will report back on those items, as well as any additional opportunities they may have to improve public engagement in future elections.
Jacque Killawee, the city’s chief electoral officer, said city bylaws would have to be updated prior to the next election – something that would be decided by city council.
