With electronic polling closed, CBRM candidates turn to getting vote out on Saturday

Election candidates in Cape Breton Regional Municipality are turning their attention to Saturday’s traditional polling and paper ballots now that electronic voting has closed.

For at least two of the mayoral candidates, the battle now is between tradition and change.

Former MLA and two-term mayor Cecil Clarke has plenty of experience with the ground campaign.

He said the next few days will see him and dozens of volunteers contacting CBRM voters in person to ensure ballots are cast in his favour.

“This is when it kind of comes right into the old traditional, old-fashioned campaigns,” Clarke said in an interview at his campaign office on Charlotte Street in downtown Sydney.

“It’s door knocking. ‘Did you vote yet?’ It’s on the phones.”

Clarke’s campaign workers are using technology to track voters, but are also planning flyer drops at seniors’ homes and will be offering rides on election day.

Joe Ward, a newcomer to the mayoral race, has not rented a campaign headquarters.

He has intentionally avoided traditional campaign signs and has not done any door knocking.

Ward said his online campaign has allowed him to put out more authentic messages that let voters know his detailed plans and positions.

He said that — and word of mouth — are working for him.

“For me, instead of like an organized political party campaign, I’ve got a grassroots campaign happening right now,” he said.

In addition to Clarke and Ward, Donnie Bacich, James Edwards, Carla George, Vince Hall, Kevin MacEachern, Archie MacKinnon and Rankin MacSween are also running to be CBRM’s next mayor.

According to CBRM’s website, just under 22,000 people had cast a vote by phone or internet by the close of electronic polling on Tuesday night.

That’s around 27 per cent of all eligible voters.

CBRM spokesperson Christina Lamey said typically just over half of all 80,000 eligible voters cast a ballot, so the current numbers are on par with previous elections.

She said the delay between electronic voting and traditional paper balloting is necessary for staff to get polling stations and personnel ready.

“We’re still expecting possibly over 20,000 voters to cast their vote in person on [Saturday], so there’s a lot of prep work being done for that,” she said.

Ward said he believes the number of electronic votes could be down this year, in part due to the lack of an election race in five council seats where incumbents were acclaimed.

Clarke and his campaign spokesperson also said the election seems quieter this year.

They say turnout could be lower, but it all depends on how many people get out and vote on Saturday.

Dalhousie University political scientist Lori Turnbull said the large number of people running for mayor could be making it difficult for voters to get a clear picture of the choices.

“It’s great to have lots of people interested in the job, but it’s hard to find a common thread and to develop a consistent narrative over a campaign when there’s so many people,” she said.

“That can undermine people’s interest.”

Traditional polls open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time in all 12 CBRM council districts.

Poll locations are on the municipality’s website, or people can call 902-563-5010 to find out where to vote.