City outlines plans to make voting in October’s municipal elections easier

“I am pleased to have collaborated with the City of Red Deer Returning Officer, Samantha Rodwell, to jointly announce this progressive initiative,” says Returning Officer Bonnie Hilford. “This improvement will provide more options for voting with a focus on convenience, flexibility and efficiency. As part of this initiative, we are hoping to see an increase in voter turnout, as turnout for the last five elections has only been 31 per cent, on average.”

Efforts to increase voter turnout will be crucial this year as only 27 per cent of eligible voters in Lethbridge did so in 2017.

Other new initiatives that the City of Lethbridge are planning include:

Drive-through voting, which would allow voting from a vehicle without leaving the vehicle
A web tool for monitoring lineups/wait time at each voting station
An information session for candidates running for mayor or councillor to be recorded and posted to the city’s website in July
Information videos from each candidate running for mayor, councillor and school board trustee, recorded and posted on the website after the September 20 Nominations Day deadline
An accessible voting station for the blind during the Advance Vote

While the general voting day is October 18, residents will have opportunities to cast their ballots before that.

Advance Voting. Three weekends of advance voting commencing October 1 as follows:
- Weekend 1: Downtown
- Weekend 2: East
- Weekend 3: West
Advance Voting is open to any eligible voter and also allows voting anywhere.
- Institutional Voting (assisted living, seniors’ residences, hospitals). An opportunity for electors within institutions to vote
- Elector Assistance at Home. Those incapacitated will have the opportunity to vote at their residence

Prospective candidates for mayor, councillor, or school board trustee can submit their nomination forms until September 20.

Lethbridge is guaranteed a new mayor this fall as Chris Spearman will not be seeking re-election.

As of this publication, five candidates have already announced their bid for the mayoral seat in the city.

A list of candidates who have filed nomination papers, including those running for mayor, council, and school board in Lethbridge, can be accessed here.

by David Opinko

City outlines plans to make voting in October’s municipal elections easier

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