Liberals are the only party to show a vote gain in the Fort Whyte by-election

Though Jean Paterson didn't win in the Fort Whyte by-election, she increased the percentage share of Liberal vote from 19.1% in the last election to 21.4% in this by-election. It was not a big gain, but it is going in the right direction.

Both the Conservative and NDP share of the vote went down from last time.

A sad part of the by-election was the overall low voter turnout. Only about 36% of voters cast ballots, and this is an extraordinarily low turnout, indeed it may be one of the lowest turnouts in Manitoba or Canadian history for a provincial or federal election. Hugh McFayden won with votes from only 19% of the eligible voters.

If you have ideas for increasing voter turnout in by-elections like this one, let me know. If we are to preserve and enhance our democracy, we need to do better.

The photos show some members of the election day team pausing for a coffee at Starbucks at the corner of McGillivray and Kenaston.