Turnout down for advance polls

Today is the big day — election day. The city will have 40 voting stations set up for anyone 18 or older to use to vote from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., today.

In order to vote, one must have lived in the province for at least six months, and in Medicine Hat for at least one day. You will be asked to provide photo identification and proof of address.

A drivers licence is ideal but if you have photo identification and a utility bill, government correspondence or bank statement showing your address that is also acceptable, said returning officer Angela Cruickshank.

Advance poll usage this year is down about 16 per cent from the last election, says Cruickshank, with 1,607 Hatters using the service.

Through the first few days, there was about 220-275 people who used an advance poll, Friday had 307 use an advance poll and Saturday saw 384 Hatters vote early.

“It’s been good this year, things have picked up as we’ve gone along,” said Cruickshank. “I don’t have the exact number, but I think we had somewhere around 1,900 last election, so we are a bit down this year. Monday is looking to be a good day outside, and that always helps a bit with the turnout.”

Though the numbers are down so far, Cruickshank believes there will still be a good turnout once the votes are counted Monday.

“I think compared to other places like Red Deer or Lethbridge we will have good numbers,” she said. “Those places sit around 30 per cent. In our last election we were at 40 per cent. I would like to see as many as possible turn out.”

For a complete list of polling stations see the News’ list here: https://tinyurl.com/y7nr84gq

To find out which station is closest visit www.medicinehat.ca/government/departments/city-clerk/municipal-elections