INNISFAIL - The federal election result will be decided next week but on Sept. 10 voters had their first chance to come early for the advance poll for the Red Deer-Mountain View riding.
The four-day advance poll for the Sept. 20 federal election was held in Innisfail at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 from Friday, Sept. 10 to Monday, Sept. 13, with the doors open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Residents who live within the geographical boundaries of the Red Deer-Mountain View riding had the opportunity to vote for one of seven declared candidates. They include:
• Marie Grabowski – New Democratic Party
• Clayten Willington – Independent
• Olumide Adewumi – Liberal Party of Canada
• Mark Wilcox - Maverick Party
• Earl Dreeshen – Conservative Party of Canada
• Jared Pilon – Libertarian Party of Canada
• Kelly Lorencz – People’s Party of Canada
Debra Giesbrecht, the central poll supervisor for advance polls for the riding, said many citizens were anxious to cast their votes early in Innisfail.
“We probably had a 40 strong line-up when we opened the doors at nine o’clock,” said Giesbrecht.
She said the numbers of early voters were steady but orderly and safe, with no concerns over the requirement of masking.
“We had some people leave because they were fussy about the wait time but we are short staffed,” said Giesbrecht, adding the issue caused a wait time of 40 minutes at one of the two voting polls.
She said the advance polling station typically has 14 workers looking after the polling and registration stations but on Sept. 10 it was doing its best with eight.
