Preparing for the election

Times Reporter    

 

The election is only a month away, and by next week campaign signs are sure to be adorning the sides of the roads. Nomination day is Sept. 23, and nominations can only be accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 12 Noon. 

In this year’s election there is one big change that affects all voters.  

“One big thing this year that’s a big change is that all voters will be required to have I.D. So if you don’t present us with an acceptable form of I.D. that is outlined by the provincial government then you can not vote, so that’s a big change that was just changed in the legislation this year,” said Jennifer Sawatzky, municipal clerk for the Town of Strathmore.

The I.D. has to prove you live in Strathmore. Some people in the county may have a box number or mailing address that’s in Strathmore, but that doesn’t mean they are allowed to vote in Strathmore. 

For a complete list of what is considered acceptable identification go to http://www.albertavotes.ca/faqs/faqs.aspx. 

For those interested in running for Mayor or council there are a few rules that must be followed. 

“To be eligible to run in the election you have to A: be 18 years of age on nomination day; B: you have to be a Canadian Citizen; and C: you have to have lived in Strathmore for at least six months prior to nomination day, and obviously you have to live in the Town of Strathmore to run in the Strathmore election,” said Sawatzky. 

The forms must be filled correctly, and signed in front of a commissioner of oaths. There is a $250 application fee that can only be paid through cash, a certified cheque or a money order made payable to the Town of Strathmore. 

In some instances the nomination fee can be returned. Those include; if the candidate is elected; if the candidate obtains a number of votes at least equal to half of the total number of votes; cast for the candidate elected to the office with the least number of votes, or if the candidate withdraws as a candidate within 24 hours after the close of the nomination period in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act.

You also need electors to sign your nomination form. In Strathmore you need five people to sign your form to nominate you to be on council. Each one must be a citizen of Strathmore, over the age of 18 and lived in Alberta for at least six months. 

There are also guidelines that the town must follow leading up to an election, one of which is naming the returning officer. This year it is Sawatzky. 

Running an election is an expensive process for the town. The town is using an automated voting system, a vote tabulator, and the cost of that is significant and is probably the biggest cost besides staffing, said Sawatzky. 

“This year though we’re staffing in house so … it’s a regular workday so we’ll be pulling from our staff to run the election this year, we won’t be hiring outside the organization,” said Sawatzky. 

The Local Authorities Elections Act outlines timeframes for election matters.  The Act also allows for municipalities to alter certain timelines by bylaw.  The Town has opted to do this for this election by extending voting hours.

“Voting hours on Election Day are typically 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. but we’ve decided to go from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. because we do have a large population that travels to work to Calgary so we did a little bit earlier,” said Sawatzky. 

Election day is Oct. 21. If you don’t plan to run in the election be sure to head down to the Civic Centre to vote.