Elections Alberta is prepping for byelection already affected by postal strike

Voters line-up to cast their ballots in a by-election in the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding in Medicine Hat, Alta., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Alberta election officials say they are working to get the word out as they deal with a Canada Post strike ahead of a Christmas-week byelection in Lethbridge-West.

Because of the postal workers’ strike, Elections Alberta cannot send “Where to Vote” cards to voters, and it says special mail-in ballots must be shipped through a courier service or dropped off in person ahead of the Dec. 18 vote.

The office has a plan in motion to inform residents using print, radio, media and online ads, and by distributing flyers across the riding with general information.

Elections Alberta spokesperson Robyn Bell said if people are concerned about weather or travel plans getting in the way, there are many ways they can vote and information is available on the Elections Alberta website or by phone.

She noted byelections tend to have lower turnouts than general elections, averaging only about 31 per cent of electors over the past five years.

“The Canada Post strike presents a unique challenge that we haven't seen in recent years," she said.

The last time an Alberta byelection was held so close to Christmas was on Dec. 14, 2017.

Although Bell said Elections Alberta aims to be in a state of election readiness at all times, the timing of the Lethbridge vote has been a political football.

The vote will fill a vacancy created July 1 when NDP Lethbridge-West legislature member Shannon Phillips resigned.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi had repeatedly urged Premier Danielle Smith to call it once both his party and the governing United Conservative Party had their candidates in place in September.

Nenshi said Smith waited until the last second to call the race because, he said, lower voter turnout only benefits the UCP.

“The premier had all summer and all fall to call this election, and she decided to wait till the last second because she doesn't want people to vote,” he told reporters in the legislature Wednesday.

Smith has said that she was waiting for Nenshi - who does not have a seat in the legislature - to declare his intentions to run for a seat so that two byelections could be called at once.

On Monday, Smith pointed to the de facto appointment of one of her MLAs in the interim during question period in the legislature.

“We have a fantastic MLA who’s been doing double duty, representing both ridings of Lethbridge-East and Lethbridge-West, and we’re grateful for his efforts in doing so,” she said, referring to Affordability Minister Nathan Neudorf.

Earlier this week, the NDP's executive director, Garett Spelliscy, penned a letter to Alberta's chief electoral officer on Monday calling for "robust voter outreach" to ensure turnout isn't low.

He also noted that, as of Sunday, the Elections Alberta website listed the wrong election date.

Bell said that was due to a human error, and all their materials have since been updated.

"It's really unfortunate that it happened in the first place - the NDP were the ones to notify us of the mistake, and we took immediate actions to correct it," she said.

The NDP candidate is Rob Miyashiro while John Middleton-Hope is running under the UCP banner.

Advance voting begins on Dec. 10.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024.