Voting: A Citizens’ Guide

Voting in the upcoming municipal election will be easy as pie–or at least as easy as eating pie. To be eligible to vote you must be 18 and a resident of Calgary since Apr. 18, 2004.


The next step is to find your voting station. The city has distributed brochures which outline the polling stations; if you’re like me and have lost your pamphlet, head to www.calgary.ca. Enter your address and you’ll be told where to cast your ballot.


Then, on Mon., Oct. 18 head to the specified building between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and vote for mayor, alderman and school trustee. If you’ve moved since April, your voters registration card may not be on file. But not to worry, you can just fill a new one out.


Also, the returning officers will ask you to sign an elector’s statement. By signing you state you are eligible to vote, you reside in the subdivision where you are voting and you have not voted before in this election. Lying on this can send you to jail. You will be asked if you’ll be voting for a public school trustee or separate school trustee.


If for some reason you can’t leave the house on Oct. 18, phone the election offices at 221-3850 and they’ll arrange for an enumerator to visit and allow you to vote.


Any other questions can be answered at http://www.calgary.ca, or if you’d like to talk to a real person, phone the elections office at 221-3850.


There’s no excuse to not vote when it’s this easy.

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