Advance voting begins for the Calgary municipal election on Monday and Calgarians who are ready to cast their ballot or are unable to vote on Oct. 20 have the opportunity to vote until advance voting ends at 7 p.m. on Oct. 11.
With 42 voting stations throughout Calgary, Elections Calgary spokesperson Andrew Brouwer is encouraging Calgarians to take advantage of the advance voting period.
“We know historically that election day can be a very busy day at voting stations. So, taking advantage of the advanced vote provides a little bit more flexibility. I think you can probably avoid some lineups that might happen on election day, which typically occur in the first thing in the morning and around the dinner hour,” Brouwer says.
“Also, thinking of students, maybe they have different, varied schedules, it might be a great way for them to work around what they have going on at school.”
For residents out of town, applications for mail-in ballots were accepted until Oct. 3. Brouwer says that despite the Canada Post strike, the City is providing an alternative service for voters.
“What we are doing is providing a courier service to distribute the ballot packages out to voters, and then voters would return the package on their own, using their own courier, or by dropping it off or having someone drop it off at the mail-in ballot office,” Brouwer says.
Those looking to cast their ballots in-person can find voting stations at hospitals, various care facilities and the vote bus, an accessible way for Calgarians to vote.
Students, along with faculty and staff at Mount Royal University (MRU), have the opportunity to vote on Monday and Tuesday at the Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The City of Calgary is also doing its best to ensure accessibility for all voters during the advanced voting period and election day. Brouwer outlines the inspection process for stations, which begins in the spring, and outlines entrances and building fixtures.
“We also work closely with the City’s advisory committee on accessibility in terms of reviewing our plans. All of our election workers have an element of accessible customer service training that we provide. We’ve worked closely with the CNIB and other organizations to provide insights into our training and information that we share, designing the voting experience in the voting stations themselves,” Brouwer says.
Voting stations will also have large group pencils, magnifying sheets and a voter ballot template marked with braille that assists individuals with limited vision. The Elections Calgary website can also be translated into the top 10 languages, including French, which provides citizens with information on when, where and how to vote.
“I would strongly encourage everyone to get out to vote and to look up their advance voting opportunities and their designated election day voting station,” Brouwer says.
To vote, Calgarians must provide a piece of government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or an Alberta ID card. Calgarians can use the online where to vote tool to find the location nearest to them for voting during the municipal election.
