With the Edmonton election less than two weeks away, there is a push to increase voter turnout. At the University of Alberta, students are trying to engage young voters across campus to get involved.
Election signs line city streets as candidates do their best to sway people before Oct. 20. But for some young voters, more of a push is needed.
Some students are seeking more information on the people running, while others feel as if their votes won’t make a difference.
“I don’t know a whole lot about any of the candidates. I don’t think a lot of people really consider municipal elections as exciting or important as like federal or provincial,” said student Violet Cordell.
University of Alberta student Aram Alyousef doesn’t believe any positive changes can be made at the municipal level.
“It’s all a bit of fluff, to be honest. It’s not like they’re going to impact anything real,” Alyousef said.
This is something the University of Alberta’s Students’ Union (UASU) is trying to change.
“Municipal politics are really the level where we see the most amount of difference in our day-to-day lives. We want students’ voices to be heard when it comes to affordability, housing, transit,” said Pedro Almeida, president of the UASU.
“Students want to be part of the changemakers in the city and want their voices to be heard by elected officials. Not every student knows the name of every city councillor, but we know the effects that we see on our day-to-day life.”
Leading up to the election, the Edmonton Student Alliance is hosting a mayoral forum on Oct. 10. Students from across the city can attend to ask their questions and listen in.
The UASU is also hosting advance voting on campus on Friday.
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“Politics is inaccessible at points. These efforts make this level of politics accessible to the students. If we as students, collectively in Edmonton, show that this is something that matters to us, that our decisions need to be in our hands, I think that would cause a shift within the culture around voting,” said Manyu Rathour, campaign manager with UASU’s Get Out the Vote.
The UASU says compared to the previous civic elections, they’re seeing more students engaging with them. A couple of days into advance voting, the City of Edmonton is also seeing a higher turnout.
Advance voting is open from Oct. 7-11. On day one, 6,297 people cast their vote, and on day two, 7,602 people voted. That totals around 14,000 people.
The total votes cast through the first two days of advance voting in Edmonton’s 2025 municipal election.
Global News
In 2021, through the first two days, just over 12,630 people cast their vote.
While the numbers are a good sign for the students’ union, they’re hoping to get even more people out to vote.
“I think that students getting involved now sets the standard that they will come out and vote the next time around, that they will be engaged in the future,” said Almeida.
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