Slightly more than one out of five Quebecers came to vote in advance on Sunday or Monday. Turnout reached an all-time high of 22.92%, up five percentage points from the 2018 elections.
The attendance at advance polls testifies to the normalization of a practice that was once exceptional. “We no longer have to justify the fact that we are going to vote in advance, it has become a day of voting like the others”, notes the professor in the Department of Political Science at Laval University Éric Montigny. Political parties are now taking advantage of this to maximize their electoral machinery by motivating voters to vote.
The Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions voted overwhelmingly. It includes the seven most active ridings in Quebec. Louis-Hébert stands out from the front runners with a record rate of 39.52%. The electoral podium is completed by Lévis (33.77%) and Chauveau (32.53%), where the Conservative leader Éric Duhaime is running.
Advance voting was also popular in Quebec City in 2018, with four ridings at the top of the list. Louis-Hébert won the prize with a rate of 29.29%, followed closely by Taschereau (27.27%), Charlesbourg (26.86%) and Jean-Talon (26.75%). “In Quebec, there is a tradition of participation that is well anchored,” says Éric Montigny.
However, it is too early to attribute the turnout of this vote to the fervor of Conservative activists. “The unknown in this campaign is the presence of an anti-system party, specifies Mr. Montigny. Eric Duhaime will he look for people who would not have gone to vote? Conversely, is there a mirror effect? Does it motivate other people to vote against an anti-system party? »
Advance voting has taken off in the Magdalen Islands following the passage of the hurricane Fiona, which had led to the closing of polling stations in the archipelago on Sunday. Islanders ultimately voted 14.88%.
The low motivation of voters on the West Island of Montreal is confirmed at the end of the advance poll. The ridings of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (14.06%), Westmount–Saint-Louis (13.47%), Saint-Laurent (12.83%), Acadie (12.66%) and D’Arcy-McGee (10.55%) occupy five of the last eight places.
The riding of Ungava, which intersects with Nord-du-Québec, brings up the rear with 6.96% of voters having turned out before the vote on October 3.