Half of PC party now registered to vote on unity deal
As Tories began voting Thursday on a proposed unity deal with the Wildrose, only about half of the Progressive Conservative party’s approximately 50,000 members were registered to cast a ballot.
The cut-off for registering to vote was Tuesday at midnight, but PC Leader Jason Kenney said Thursday it was a “soft deadline.” PC members can still contact the party to receive the PIN needed to vote either online or by phone.
“My understanding is about 25,000 have registered,” Kenney told reporters at a photo op where he cast his ballot by computer.
“The truth is that it’s a complex administration process that some people may have been challenged by. They have to go through a multi-step process.”
PC party executive director Janice Harrington said the registration deadline was set up to facilitate the voting process. But the party always intended that anyone holding a membership by July 12 would still be able to sign up even after the registration cut-off.
Voting will run through 6 p.m. Saturday. By around 11 a.m. Thursday, about 3,300 Tories had voted.
Kenney said even if the number of votes cast comes in lower than 25,000, he’s confident “this will be the single-largest democratic decision ever taken by a political party in Alberta history on an internal governance matter.”
The Tories need 50 per cent plus one for the unity agreement to be ratified while Wildrose has a 75 per cent threshold. If successful, the parties will join together in a new United Conservative Party.
Wildrose will hold a special meeting in Red Deer on Saturday, but all voting will be done electronically and members can participate remotely.
Party members received their voting PINs by mail.
Wildrose executive director Jeremy Nixon said Thursday that while some members raised concerns earlier in the week about not receiving their PINs, almost all received their letters in the past few days.
Those who still hadn’t received their voting information can contact the party for assistance.