Random ballot fever has officially swept into every level of government in Vancouver.
The Vancouver School Board was the lone holdout, but that changed Monday, June 25, when trustees unanimously approved shuffling the ballot order in time for the Oct. 20 election.
The city and park board made the shift earlier in June, but the school board required a bylaw change to join the party. The policy change was first endorsed at a committee meeting June 11 before getting the green light from all eight trustees in attendance at Monday's meeting (Judy Zaichkowsky is currently out of the country).
“At our committee meeting a number of stakeholders were in favour of the randomized ballot, so given that the city council is in favour, I think this is a good opportunity to match that,” VSB chair Janet Fraser told the Courier Tuesday.
About $235,000 has been earmarked by the city to cover costs associated with the change — additional staffing and resources for voting places and getting the word out to voters.
“The funding comes only from the city, and will cover outreach efforts about the random order ballot for all races, including the school board trustees,” city spokesperson Jhenifer Pabillano told the Courier.
City staff has indicated that a review of the random ballot switch will happen after the election. Fraser, meanwhile, said the VSB change is on the books until a subsequent board decides otherwise.
Seven of the nine board trustees have last names that start within the first seven letters of the alphabet. Only Zaichkowsky and Vision’s Allan Wong fall outside of the first third of the alphabet.
As for whether the whole thing makes a difference, Fraser is undecided.
“I don’t know how you determine what happens at the polls or how it impacts the voting, but I think it’s the right time to look at that,” Fraser said.
@JohnKurucz
