Voter tactics
Most first-time voters cast their ballot and wonder if it mattered. Here are two things about how BC municipal elections actually work that most people are never told.
Tactic 01
When you vote for someone, you're not just picking a name — you're signalling which issues matter to you. And in local elections, losing candidates with specific platforms can shape policy even after they lose.
Here's why: winning councillors pay close attention to the vote totals of candidates they beat. If a candidate running on a specific issue — say, open data for city contracts or a new transit proposal — earns 15–20% of the vote, that's a concrete number. It represents a bloc of voters who will be back next election.
Councils regularly incorporate ideas from strong-performing losing platforms — not out of generosity, but because those vote totals show a constituency worth winning over. Your vote for a “long shot” candidate on a specific issue is data that lives past election night.
Why this works
The signal your vote sends
Election results in BC are public and detailed. Campaign teams, journalists, and incumbent councillors analyse which platforms drove unexpected vote shares. A cluster of support around a single idea — especially one that cost a candidate nothing to campaign on — gets noticed and often gets adopted.
Pick the issue that matters most to you — not just the candidate who seems most likely to win.
Vote for the candidate who most clearly represents that issue, even if they're not the frontrunner.
Say it out loud. A letter to a local paper, a post in a neighbourhood Facebook group, or a submission to council explaining why you voted that way turns one vote into a named data point that's much harder to ignore.
Tactic 02
Most BC municipal ballots say something like “Vote for up to 6 candidates.” That “up to” is important. It means you can vote for fewer — even just one or two — and your ballot is completely valid.
Choosing to vote for fewer candidates than the maximum is called ballot truncation or bullet voting. It's not spoiling your ballot. It's not a mistake. It's a deliberate, recognised voting strategy.
When you vote for all six slots just to fill them out, you may inadvertently help a candidate you're indifferent to edge past one you actually support. By voting only for the candidates you genuinely want, you concentrate the full weight of your participation on them.
Sample ballot
Vote for up to 6 candidates
Leaving four boxes blank is valid. This ballot will be counted in full for Candidates A and B.
What election analysts see
Truncated ballots are readable data
After an election, analysts look at how many ballots had only 1–2 names marked in a “vote for 6” race. A high number signals that voters were making deliberate quality-over-quantity choices, not that they were confused or disengaged. That pattern gets attention from campaigns preparing for the next cycle.
Before election day, decide which candidates you genuinely support — not just tolerate.
On your ballot, mark only those candidates. Leave the rest blank. Your ballot will still be counted.
If you're unsure, check Elections BC's official FAQ — they confirm that undervoting (marking fewer than the maximum) is valid in all BC municipal elections.