EDMONTON – On Monday, more than 61,000 eligible voters have the opportunity to choose the next city councillor for Ward 12.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, 3,913 people had cast their ballot in the byelection. With the 3,721 votes cast during the advance polls, the total number of votes cast as of 4 p.m. Monday was 7,634, or 12.5 per cent of those eligible.
The Ward 12 council seat was vacated by Amarjeet Sohi who was elected as a federal MP for Edmonton Mill Woods in October and now serves as infrastructure minister for the Liberals.
There are 32 candidates running to replace Sohi in the southeast Edmonton ward. That’s more than 10 times the candidates in the 2013 general election, when there were three names on the ballot.
READ MORE: Who’s running in Edmonton’s crowded Ward 12 byelection?
Polls are open Monday, Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Officials expect the results to be available by 8:30 p.m. If there is a tie, the names of those involved will be put into a jar and the winner will be selected by a draw.
There are seven polling stations in the ward:
- Burnewood Community League Hall (4118 41 Ave. NW);
- Velma E. Baker School (2845 43A Ave. NW);
- Ridgewood Community League Hall (3705 Millwoods Road East NW);
- The Meadows Community Recreation Centre (2704 17 St. NW);
- Southwood Community League Hall (1880 37 St. NW);
- Grace Point Church of God (720 62 St. SW);
- Michael Strembitsky School (4110 Saveryn Dr. SW).
In order to cast a ballot, voters must bring with them a piece of identification that confirms their name and current address.
“If they don’t have a piece of ID the legislation says they cannot vote,” Laura Kennedy, the city’s returning officer, said. “They need that single piece of ID that confirms their name and current residential address before they can vote.”
A list of approved ID can be found on the city’s byelection website.
The city has put together a map that shows you where to vote based on your home address.
Click here to use the city’s map voting tool.
Watch below: Canadian Taxpayers Federation weighs in on challenges winner of byelection will face
If advance voting is any indication, the turn out for the Ward 12 byelection will be higher than a typical byelection.
When advance polls closed on Feb. 11, 3,721 residents had cast a ballot.
“It was a good turnout and so we are hoping for healthy participation on Election Day,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy anticipated another 18,000 people would cast a ballot on Monday.
In the 2013 election, voter turnout in the ward was 32 per cent.
Whoever fills the vacant seat will be on council for less than two years, as the next civic election is in October 2017.
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