Seven hundred and seventeen.
It’s a random number – a number that likely no one out there but me will care about.
I care about this number because I was voter 717 at an advance polling station at municipal hall in Ladner on Thursday, Oct. 6 – the third and final day of advanced voting here in Delta.
I wear the number 717 with pride knowing that I performed my civic duty and voted in this municipal election.
Voting – in any election – has always been a big deal for me. It is something that I do not take for granted. It is something I feel privileged and honoured to do.
I know the sacrifices that many before me made to give me the opportunity to choose. To make my voice heard.
And I was not the only one who recognizes the importance of the voting process.
According to the City of Delta, 4,026 registered electors in Delta made their choice in the advanced polls.
That number is an encouraging sign of engagement from Deltans.
In the 2018 municipal election there were 73,110 registered electors with 31,434 (43 per cent of total registered electors) casting a ballot, with 5,163 voting in an advanced poll.
Delta had one of the largest turnouts in the province. My hope is that this time around we meet or exceed that total.
Notwithstanding the importance of provincial and federal elections, municipal elections are, in my view, the most important of the three.
We elect people to represent us at the local government level to make decisions that affect our daily lives right here in our own community. How much in tax do we pay? Do we have adequate water, garbage removal and sewer services? Will we get that new sports field or playground for our kids? All things that matter. All things that you have a say in simply by visiting your polling station on Saturday and marking in your ballot.
Do your part this Saturday. Get out and vote.
