Mieka West and her family experienced a three-hour wait while voting in Calgary’s recent municipal election. West, who voted at the Ward 9 Colonel Walker School polling station in Inglewood, described a long line of around a hundred people. This prolonged wait was unprecedented for her, as previous voting experiences typically took between five to 30 minutes.
Reports from voters citywide indicated lengthy and slow-moving queues on Election Day, raising questions about the unusual delays compared to previous elections. In Ward 11, voter Chance Devlin had to abandon voting due to the extensive lineup, which dissuaded him from returning despite the close margin in the mayoral race between Jeromy Farkas and Sonya Sharp.
University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young also faced voting delays exceeding an hour, attributing the slowdown to new requirements implemented by the provincial government. These changes included the completion of voter attestation forms for each voter, aimed at enhancing election security but leading to longer wait times.
Young expressed skepticism about the necessity of these strict measures, emphasizing the limited instances of voter fraud. She suggested that increasing polling stations or election staff could have alleviated congestion but acknowledged the associated costs. The professor highlighted the need for a reevaluation of the election process, particularly the removal of vote tabulators.
Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams placed responsibility on municipalities for the election conduct, emphasizing their awareness of the new regulations for over a year. He defended the manual counting of ballots as a measure to enhance election result credibility amid global concerns about election integrity.
Amidst complaints of prolonged waits and administrative backlogs, Alberta Municipalities is conducting a review to assess the overall election performance. Outgoing St. Albert mayor Cathy Heron expressed disappointment over low voter turnout and questioned the efficacy of the changes in boosting voter confidence.
Some voters reported issues at polling stations, including missing or incorrect ballots. Brian Popp encountered misinformation regarding the Catholic school trustee election at his station, leading to initial denial of ballots. Similar incidents were reported in other wards, highlighting discrepancies and challenges faced by voters during the election process.
