Advance polls garner 6.5% of eligible voters' ballots in Montreal

Just one week before the municipal election, advance polls garnered 6.5per cent of Montrealers'votes by Sunday evening.

Citizens lined up at the Sainte-Catherine d'Alexandriecommunity centre on Amherst Street to get their votesin nearly a week early. Residents of 900 municipalities across the province were also able to vote in advance polls starting today.

Some of those who showed up early at thecommunity centre were surprised at the long queues of people on a rainy day, too waiting to fill out their ballots.

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Though avoiding queues was the precise reason some wanted to vote in the advance polls, others said they feltvoting early was an important wayto make sure their voice would be heard.

"Everybody should vote. If we want some changes, we have to vote," said Francoise Cabana, who was voting early because hewill be out of town on the official election day, Nov. 5.

Another early voter, Andrew Chapman, agreed, saying he believes all citizens should exercise their right to vote and promote the candidate that best represents their ideals.

"This is a great privilege in living in the society that we live in, and it would be a great disservice to the democratic process to stay home and not vote," Chapman said.

For Tristan Boudreault, the decision to vote in the advancepolls was mostly motivated by the prospect of savingtime by avoiding long lines.

"I was betting on that, for the line to be shorter, but actually the line is long," Boudreault said at the polling station. "I think a lot of people came even though it was raining."

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Voter turnout has been on the rise in Montreal in the past three municipal elections, yet itwas still low in 2013, capping at43 per cent.

But Boudreaultsays he can understand why some choose not to cast their ballot.

"A lot of people don't see the impact their vote would have, so they don't feel they're in a position to [make] a wise decision," he said, commenting on Montreal politics.

Candidates make an appearance

Leader of the official opposition Valrie Plante showed up to the centre in the afternoon as part of her last campaign push before next week's election.

"I'm a marathoner," Plante said. "This week is a sprint."

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Plantesaidshe feels proud of this campaign, particularly for exposing Montrealers to the importance of municipal politics.

The day before, in Verdun, current mayor and candidate Denis Coderre was at a campaign office encouraging citizens to vote. He commended the work accomplished by his administration during his four years in office.

"Why should we start from scratch with people who don't have the experience?" Coderre said. "Montreal is booming, Montreal is transformed. I think we need to keep the same thing in place."

Both candidates urged citizens to vote in the last municipal election only 43.3 per cent of Montrealersvoted. Plante said the tight race might make people more inclined to head to the polls.

"At the municipal level, it's so relevant, it's so important because it is how we will be using Montrealers' tax money in the next years," she said.

Coderre told CBC Montreal the tightness of the race is something he enjoysbecause "nobody takes things for granted."

• The charm offensive: Valrie Plante's charge for City Hall

Make a date with CBC for election night this Sunday, Nov. 5:

• CBC'sfull coverage of the 2017 municipal election

Online:Get breaking news and live results at cbc.ca/montreal after polls close at 8 p.m.

On Facebook:Join host Debra Arbec for a 90-minute Facebook Live starting at 10 p.m. with results, analysis and reports from across Quebec.

On TV:Watch our live results show at 11-11:30 p.m. on CBC Television.

On Radio:Listen to CBCRadio One starting at 8 p.m. for a province-wide show hosted by Mike Finnerty in Montreal and Susan Campbell in Quebec City.