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A steady stream of voters showed up at the Parkinson Recreation Center on Wednesday, the third day of early voting ahead of the Kelowna municipal election on Oct. 17.
The city said voter turnout on the first day of early voting, Oct. 7, was roughly double that on the same day in the 2022 election.
“On the first day of early voting on Oct. 7, we saw about double the number of votes we received in the 2022 election on the same day, said Chief Election Officer Michael Jud. “We’re now on day three and looking to match the early vote total in 2022.”
The high turnout comes as voters prepare to choose who will lead the growing city, with issues of public safety, development and transportation being a major focus.
With 37 candidates vying for council seats and several incumbents dropping out, the race is also expected to bring significant changes to the council.
“I think it’s definitely in the interest of the candidates and the board changes, four new people being elected,” Kelowna voter Michael Winter said.
Kelowna wasn’t the only community to see a large increase in voting turnout.
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Political scientist Stewart Perst says this trend is being seen in cities across B.C
While there may be several factors, including overlapping municipal and provincial elections, Perst said this could also indicate a desire for change.
“We know that in a number of cities in the province, there is frustration with the direction that city governments are taking towards their communities,” Perst said. “So people who really want to see the government move in the right direction, to have their votes counted, they tend to show up early.”
However, it remains to be seen whether high early voting numbers will translate into higher voter turnout overall.
In Kelowna’s 2022 civil election, about 30 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots.
“We’ll have to wait and see if this actually translates into increased voter turnout in general, which I hope as a political scientist is what we see because these decisions really matter.”
There are two days of advanced voting scheduled for Thursday and Friday leading up to the general election on Saturday.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
