(Terri Huxley/ECA Review)
With voting season right around the corner, conservatives of the Drumheller – Stettler riding will have six voting locations to choose from.
The Local Candidate Nominating Committee (LCNC), derived from a board of 30 members, has determined and confirmed that six locations within the Drumheller-Stettler electoral division will be used for voting when the time comes to choose which contestant will become the new United Conservative Party (UCP) nominee.
Whoever wins this election will have their name on the ballot for when provincial elections begin next May.
Mark Nikota has been nominated for the Alberta Party within the Drumheller- Stettler riding while no one has stepped forth to be the NDP nominee.
Provost, Coronation, Stettler, Drumheller, Oyen, and Hanna will be the locations where members will be able to choose the candidate of their choice.
UPC members as of Sept. 7, 2018, will have the opportunity to vote for Nate Horner, Todd Pawsey, or Rick Strankman later this month.
These populations were chosen based on geography along main highways and mass.
Originally, only two polls in Hanna and Coronation were chosen as they correlated with the main highways and were central to the constituency.
“There were concerns people wanted more polls so I had a discussion with the provincial board on the dates and times and that. They wondered if we could have some more and we expanded it,” explained Doug Jones, LCNC board chair.
As a way to alleviate any issues that may arise during haying or harvest season, the committee decided to have dates in late September.
“Dates were discussed when the possibilities were,” said Jones. “There was a date in July, one in September, and there was one in August but nobody wanted one in August because that was haying and guys would be in the fields harvesting. Everybody wanted to have it before the snowbirds went south.”
Jones continued, “That is why we put it at the end of the month. Ninety-five per cent of harvest will be done. Harvest in the last 10 years has changed dramatically. I remember we didn’t start harvest until September 15 and now if you’re not going by August 15 you’re late.”
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
