Data shows massive drop in Yellowknife's voter turnout this year. Here's why that's not true

More people voted in last week's Yellowknife Municipal election compared to the one held four years ago. But according to data from both elections, voter turnout declined by 11%. The reason voter turnout looks like it took a dip is because the voter eligibility list nearly doubled. This is because Elections NWT helped run voting. Their data comes from multiple government agencies and is reviewed. In past elections, the city relied on people voluntarily registering, meaning data of eligible voters in past elections is way smaller than it is this year. This is a common problem where you see kind of wild fluctuations in the size of the voter eligibility list. City figures show voter turnout in 2022 was 48% and 37% this year. In reality, there were over 1,700 more votes cast this year. This year's voter turnout is actually among the highest in a decade. One outgoing Yellowknife City Councillor says he also noticed this discrepancy. That's the important thing, and to make sure that that 37% number doesn't get misconstrued as a disengagement. McLennan hopes the city continues working with Elections NWT to ensure there is consistent data in future elections. Luke Carroll, CBC News, Yellowknife.