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By Teena Monteleone

Meadow Lake Returning Officer hoping for stronger voter turnout

Oct 5, 2020 | 2:00 PM

If there is something happening in the community or a platform somebody is running on that you feel strong about – get out and vote.

That’s the message from returning officer Jessica Walters, who is also the city clerk. She said voter turnout in Meadow Lake has hovered around 20 per cent since 2006.

“According to Stats Canada in 2016, the last general election, we had 582 voters which is an estimated turnout of 15 to 16 per cent and before that in 2012, we had 696 voters – so estimated turnout of just under 20 per cent. In that election, we had 11 councillors vying for six positions and the mayor was acclaimed.”

So far this year, eight candidates have thrown their names into the hat for the six Meadow Lake council positions. They are incumbents Ron Dishko, Tom Harrison, Richard Levesque and Conrad Read. Felicia Adams, Clay DeBray, Sébastien Dupuis and Mauri Young are new candidates. There is also just one contender for the position of mayor – incumbent Merlin Seymour.

“We did just have a byelection for the position of mayor last year, so it’s not really surprising there are no new candidates but it’s hard to know what people’s motivations are for running or not running. We have, at this point, one more nominee than we did in our 2016 election. So, certainly not anywhere near the most candidates we’ve had but not the least amount either,” Walters said.

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The last day for potential candidates to put their names forward is this Wednesday, Oct. 7 by 4 p.m. If nobody withdraws their name by end of day Thursday, they’ll start printing ballots for the Nov. 9 election.

Walters said extra attention is being taken to ensure the voting process is safe and accessible during the pandemic. Mail-in ballots will be used to make it easier for people to vote without needing to come in person to city hall or a polling station and there will be more advanced poll options.

Regardless of how you cast your ballot, Walters hopes more people exercise their right to do so.

“I think your local government are the people that you have the most opportunity to directly interact with out of all the positions you can elect people to and I think it’s important to be engaged in that process,” she said.

“I would always like to see more people come out and vote. It’s one of the most important things you can do.”

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teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @meadowlakeNOW