Several readers have expressed concerns with the Crystal Pool referendum ballot. Some were concerned that if they voted "No", but did not then answer the second question of where their preferred location for the pool was, their vote would be marked invalid.
Victoria News reached out to Coun. Marg Gardiner to get some clarification on some of the concerns.
One reader asked, "Were the ballots that were only marked No and the back side left blank considered incomplete and not counted in the votes?"
"If you voted 'No' to the pool but did NOT vote on the second question of location, your No vote counted," Gardiner said.
Readers were also curious about how many votes were considered incomplete. The final ballot count is as follows:
The CEO issued 44,300 ballots to polls. The executive summary shows that of those, 15,685 were issued to electors, and 15,547 were valid ballots cast. 138 ballots were spoiled and replaced (this number includes those not replaced), and 4 were not accounted for.
Of the valid ballots cast, 9,115 (58.71 per cent) voted yes and 6,410 (42.29 per cent) voted no. For the second question on the ballot – Crystal Pool preferred site location – Central Park North received 7,703 votes (60.57 per cent) and Central Park South received 5,014 votes.
Gardiner noted that before the election, she requested staff ensure ballot questions were pre-listed on the website, and they complied.
