Turnout strong for advance voting

Voters in Calgary-Lougheed may have been trying to beat the Christmas rush as advance poll numbers for the upcoming byelection spiked upwards compared to the last provincial election.

Elections Alberta said Monday an estimated 3,534 ballots were cast in advanced voting Dec. 6 to 9, compared to 2,062 votes cast in the four days of advance voting in the riding in the 2015 general election.

Pamela Renwick, director of operations and communications for Elections Alberta, said it’s impossible to say what the early voting means for election day on Thursday.

Turnout for byelections is traditionally low. Renwick noted there was an increase in advance poll locations from one to three, which may have helped boost early turnout.

“So perhaps it was more convenient or perhaps people were getting out because they had Christmas things happening later,” she said in an interview.

Renwick said the process for voting is easier this time under an Elections Alberta pilot program.

Calgary-Lougheed residents who bring their voter card or identification, such as a driver’s licence, can have those scanned to bring up their information, speeding their entry to voting.

“In the advance polls, it was taking about a minute to get in, get their ballot, vote and then go out the door,” said Renwick.

On election day, Elections Alberta will also be using electronic voting tabulators to count the paper ballots continuously as they are being cast.

Elections staff do not see the tally until the polls close, but officials are hoping to have a large number of results released within 20 to 30 minutes of the polls closing at 8 p.m.

Renwick said a legislative change would be required for the electronic tabulators to be used in the next provincial election, slated for 2019. An electronic voter assist terminal for voters with special needs is also available at the chief returning officer’s office at Spruce Meadows-British House.

There are seven candidates running in the byelection: United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, the NDP’s Phillip van der Merwe, Liberal Leader David Khan, Green Leader Romy Tittel, the Reform Party’s Lauren Thorsteinson and independents Wayne Leslie and Larry Heather.

Perhaps it was more convenient or perhaps people were getting out because they had Christmas things happening later.