Decision day for city voters
Tuesday, candidates’ election signs will start disappearing from city boulevards and lawns. Today, Lethbridge voters will decide which of those contenders will form their next city council.
Polls open at 10 a.m. in 14 locations around the city, remaining open until 8 p.m. That’s when election officials will begin tallying ballots and declaring winners.
Three men are seeking the mayor’s job, with 29 women and men running for one of eight councillors’ positions. While electors may select just one mayorality candidate, they can vote for any number — up to eight — among those seeking a councillor’s role.
Lethbridge voters, along with their counterparts across the province, will also be able to elect trustees to a local school board. Elsewhere, some electors are also being asked to vote on controversial issues, like allowing video lottery gambling in Coaldale.
City officials increased the number of advance poll opportunities this year, including on-campus polls at Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge. With one advance poll to go, returning officer Aleta Neufeld reported Friday that 2,419 ballots had been cast ahead of election day.
Every Lethbridge resident is eligible to vote, officials point out, providing they are Canadian citizens, 18 years old or better, and
a resident of Alberta for six months. All will be asked to show identification showing a current Lethbridge address, and to state Lethbridge is their place of residence today.
Unlike voting in the advance polls, election day voters today must head to their designated polling place. A map showing those locations was included in the Lethbridge Herald’s voter guide last week, but residents can also go online — www.lethbridge.ca/election — to find their location.
And to help voters reach those destinations, Lethbridge Transit will be offering free service all day. Voters who are physically unable to leave their home were also offered vote-at-home service, but were asked to make their request by Friday.
Candidates are hoping to see more Lethbridge residents head to the polls this year, following a disappointing 29.8 per cent turnout in 2013. That compared with about 35 per cent in 2010 — and 46 per cent as recently as 2004.
First-time council candidate Chris Spearman was elected mayor with 46 per cent ballot support in 2013, with one-term councillor Bridget Mearns placing second and council colleague Faron Ellis coming in third.
Lethbridge voters also added newcomers Wade Galloway, Blaine Hyggen and Rob Miyashiro to their new council, while re-electing Joe Mauro, Ryan Parker, Jeffrey Coffman, Jeff Carlson and Liz Iwaskiw. Mearns returned to council in a byelection called after Galloway was involved in a fatal accident, but is the only incumbent not seeking another term today.