Medicine Hat and region will head to the polls Monday to choose the next four years of elected representatives. More than 5,600 Hatters cast ballots in the first four days of advance polling.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
A total of 5,659 voters cast a ballot over four days of advance polling leading up to Election Day on Monday, according to the city’s election office.
This number does not include ballots cast at advance polls on Friday or Saturday.
On Monday, 10 voting stations located around the city will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. As long as you are in line by 8 p.m. Monday evening, you will be allowed to cast a vote, and all voting stations are fully accessible.
Due to a record number of council candidates (39), six mayoral candidates and several school board trustee hopefuls, this year’s ballot is the longest in city history and can take several minutes to complete.
Chief electoral officer Cardona Arias recommends bringing a list of candidates you intend to vote for with you before heading to the polling station to save time.
Arias predicts prepared voters should expect up to a half-hour wait time if it’s a day of high voter turnout.
Because of this the city encourages residents to register through its online tool in advance of voting to help minimize wait times on Election Day.
The registration tool can be accessed, as well as a full list of polling stations, by visiting medicinehat.ca/voterinfo.
The new technology also gives voters the flexibility to cast ballots at any polling station in the city on election day.
To increase accessibility to voters the city announced Friday it will offer free transit service to all residents on Monday.
“The city is pleased to offer free transit services to all residents on Election Day,” said Tarolyn Aaserud, returning officer. “This initiative ensures everyone has an easy and affordable way to access polling stations.”
Once polls close at 8 p.m. election workers will begin the process of hand counting all ballots following changes to the Local Authorities Elections Act.
This year the city expects to accurately count a maximum of 1,600 voter ballots per hour, per team, utilizing a counting method known as a Kangaroo Board – a large grid sheet paper set side by side.
Arias says the method is “extremely efficient and accurate” and will allow vote counters to complete 25 ballots in seven minutes.
Preliminary unofficial results will begin appearing on the city’s website as soon as counts are reported and will then be updated hourly until 2 a.m.
If ballot counting continues past that time, updates will resume at least once per hour during regular business hours Tuesday until the counting is complete.
Official election results will be announced at noon Thursday. Follow the Medicine Hat News online on Election Day and into Tuesday as long as counting is ongoing, with live up-to-date information provided as it happens.
