Why the other options are wrong:

• plans for the next city council meeting.: The council meeting is only briefly mentioned at the very end and is not the main topic.
• changes to advance voting rules across Ontario.: The report is only about Mississauga, not about voting rules across all of Ontario.
• a closely contested mayoral race in the city.: The report mentions closely contested council races, but there is no mention of a mayoral race.

Correct Answer: council races were closely contested.

Why this is correct: The transcript says turnout was strongest in the city centre and along the Hurontario corridor, where several council races were closely contested. The answer identifies the type of races in those high-turnout areas; the report does not establish that close races caused the increase.

Why the other options are wrong:

• reminder notices were not delivered.: The report says reminder notices were mailed to households, not that they were missing in certain areas.
• advance polls were newly introduced.: The city added two extra days of advance polls, not a stated set of newly introduced polls in the strongest-turnout areas. Those areas are described as having closely contested council races.
• online voting was made mandatory.: There is no mention of online voting being mandatory anywhere.

Correct Answer: additional advance voting days.

Why this is correct: The transcript clearly states that the city added two extra days of advance polls as one of the key reasons for the increase in voter turnout. Officials point to expanded advance voting as an important factor.

Why the other options are wrong:

• mandatory online voting.: Online voting is never described as mandatory in the report.
• lower property taxes during the election year.: Property taxes are mentioned as a local issue, but lower taxes were not credited with increasing turnout.
• longer polling hours on election day.: The report says polls were open for twelve hours, but it does not say polling hours were made longer than before.

Correct Answer: the city clerk.

Why this is correct: The transcript says City Clerk Diana Rusnov made the comment that "when voting is accessible, people are more likely to take part." She is the city clerk, which matches this answer.

Why the other options are wrong:

• the mayor of Mississauga.: No mayor is quoted or mentioned making this comment.
• the city treasurer.: The city treasurer is not quoted making this comment; the identified speaker is City Clerk Diana Rusnov.
• a provincial election analyst.: Political analysts are mentioned separately and did not make this particular comment.

Correct Answer: appears to be growing.

Why this is correct: The transcript says political analysts believe the higher turnout numbers suggest growing interest in local issues such as transit, housing, and property taxes. So interest in local matters appears to be increasing.

Why the other options are wrong:

• depends mainly on federal politics.: The report does not say local interest depends on federal politics.
• is limited to the city centre.: Turnout was strong in multiple areas, not just the city centre.
• has declined compared with past elections.: The turnout was a record high, so interest has not declined.