Officials push advance voting

As Calgary tries drive-thru poll, Edmonton goes traditional route

There are no drive-thru options for Edmonton voters yet, but officials are urging the public to take advantage of traditional offerings with less than a week to the Oct. 16 municipal election.

In Calgary, voters can cast a ballot from the comfort of their car for the first time this election by pulling through a lane at McMahon Stadium.

Edmonton is not so fancy, but the city is watching Calgary’s experiment and will consider it for next election, said director of elections Iain MacLean: “We’re going to look at all our processes.”

Edmonton has six advance polling stations set up across the city and officials will have three additional locations at post-secondary institutions this week.

Advanced polls were open for the first time on a Thanksgiving Monday this year.

Over the first six days of advance voting this year, 8,495 citizens cast a ballot.

That includes 1,254 votes cast Monday on the statutory holiday. During the first five days of 2013 advance voting, 8,438 votes were cast.

Advance polling stations are open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday at six locations throughout the city. Election workers were also at MacEwan University on Tuesday.

They will be at NAIT on Wednesday and on the University of Alberta campus Thursday.

The exact locations are available at edmonton.ca/election.

“We have four more days of advance voting,” said MacLean. “There are opportunities to get out and vote and people need to take advantage of that.”

Political science experts were predicting a lower turnout this year because the citywide mayoral race has few household names.

Incumbent Don Iveson has been polling with around 50 per cent approval ratings, according to several Mainstreet Research polls over the last year.

However, when turnout is lower, each ballot is worth more. That makes races at the ward level difficult to call.

And while the mayor is often able to set the tone and direction for the term, each councillor’s vote carries the same weight on council.

CALGARY Police have a man and a woman in custody and say charges are pending in a quadruple homicide last summer.

The remains of Glynnis Fox, 36, her sister Tiffany Ear, 39, and Cody Pfeiffer, 25, were found in a burned-out car at a Calgary construction site on July 10.

Hanock Afowerk, 26, the car’s owner, was found dead west of Calgary two days later.

Police had issued a plea in Alberta and Saskatchewan for help in solving the crime.

Fox and Ear were from the Stoney Nakoda Nation west of Calgary and police have said it’s believed they were caught up in a targeted attack against Afowerk.