Election results for Cornwall came in shortly after 9pm on Monday evening, a little over an hour after the polls closed. Justin Towndale is to be elected mayor of Cornwall with 5,169 votes (51.55%). Close behind him was Glen Grant with 40.77% of the votes.
Justin Towndale has served two terms on city council.
The ten councillors to be elected are:
- Good, Sarah (5478 votes)
- Hébert, Carilyne (4439 votes)
- MacDonald, Elaine (3880 votes)
- Hollingsworth, Dean (3480 votes)
- Bennett, Todd (3,312 votes)
- Dupelle, Maurice (3,302 votes)
- McIntosh, Claude (3,217 votes)
- Sabourin, Denis (2,859 votes)
- Gardiner, Syd (2,738 votes)
- Ngoundjo, Fred (2,719 votes)
There are many familiar faces on this council, with three new members to bring a fresh perspective to the council table: Sarah Good, Denis Sabourin, and Fred Ngoundjo.
The total number of ballots cast was 10,166. This turnout was lower than the 38% we had in the 2018 municipal election, when 12,488 citizens cast their vote in the Cornwall. The lower turnout this year is partly because there were only four polling stations this year compared to 10 in 2018. Many voters have shared frustrations with the long lineups.
Justin Towndale brought this issue up on Facebook yesterday, stating, “This is not an ideal situation by any means and a few of us raised this at a Council meeting last month. We are now finding out that some residents are experiencing issues with accessibility and are opting to not vote because of it.”
“In a time where we are trying to increase voter turnout, I feel as though we have failed in this regard. If elected Mayor, I promise to look at ways to increase turnout and encourage voting. This includes taking a serious look at online voting,” he added.