The (very young) people of Vancouver have spoken
Before the main course of municipal election results is served, the City of Vancouver has provided something of an amuse-bouche.
Results from Kids Vote, an exercise to familiarize children with the voting process, were made public Saturday and the big winners are swimming pools, first responders and kindness.
Run in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library, the vote gives children in preschool to Grade 3 the chance to fill out a ballot with a number of (very much non-binding) questions.
The ballot asked young voters where they like to go for fun, with swimming pools earning 36 per cent of the vote.
When asked what qualities they wanted in a leader, 38 per cent said “kindness,” which finished ahead of “fun,” “honesty” and “good ideas.”
Saturday’s results make it two consecutive wins for kindness and swimming pools, as both topped the polls in the 2022 Kids Vote.
When asked what is most important to them, a resounding 40 per cent of respondents said firefighters, ambulance and police.
The city says more than 1,000 kids filled out a ballot, a 121 per cent increase from 2022. It also noted that “223 ballots were spoiled, a sign that some young voters had more to say than the ballot allowed.”