FORT ST JOHN, B.C. - The number of spoiled ballots in last weekend’s Peace River North election increased by approximately 1,500 per cent compared to the previous provincial election.
It is a spike that one political scientist says may reflect dissatisfaction among some voters left without their preferred choice on the ballot.
The election featured two candidates: BC Conservative candidate Curtis Whitford and Independent incumbent Jordan Kealy, who left the Conservative Party and later faced a charge of sexual assault.
According to Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, the unusually high number of spoiled ballots could be interpreted as a form of political protest.
“This is presumably a protest vote by voters on the left who didn’t have a candidate to vote for,” said Telford. “People don’t see their choice on the ballot, in this case it was the NDP that was missing.”
The BC NDP did not field a candidate in the riding, leaving voters to choose between Whitford and Kealy.
Whitford won the election with approximately 86 per cent of the vote, while spoiled ballots represented a significantly larger share of ballots cast than in the previous provincial election.
Political observers note that spoiled ballots can occur for several reasons, including voter confusion.
However, election experts have long recognized that intentionally spoiling a ballot can also be a way for voters to register dissatisfaction with the choices available.
The increase in spoiled ballots comes as voter turnout in Peace River North has fluctuated over recent elections, ranging from 46.48 per cent in 2020 to 57.16 per cent in 2024.
While Elections BC has not identified the reasons behind individual spoiled ballots, the dramatic increase has sparked discussion about whether some voters used their ballots to send a message in an election where a major provincial party was absent from the race.