TAMRMS#: B06
6.2
REQUEST FOR DECISION
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Votes of Electors Policy C-CC-14 and 2025 Municipal Election Update
Presented by: Marta Caufield, Director, Legal, Legislative and Records Services
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
recommendation
That Standing Committee of the Whole recommend to Council that Policy C-CC-14 Votes of Electors be repealed.
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ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
Local Authority Elections Act Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000 Chapter L-21 (LAEA) provides that members of an elected authority elected at a general election hold office for a term of 4 years, and that a general election shall be held every 4th year.
Municipal Government Act Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000 Chapter M-26 requires that a vote of electors be conducted in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Votes of Electors Council Policy C-CC-14
Bill 20 (Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2024) came into force on October 31, 2024. As a result of Bill 20, administration recommended that the City’s then-current Municipal Elections Bylaw be repealed and replaced with a new bylaw. The new Municipal Elections Bylaw 27/2024 was passed on December 17, 2024.
The new Municipal Elections Bylaw renders Council Policy C-CC-14 Votes of Electors redundant (policy is attached). The majority of the items in the policy are now contained in the Municipal Elections Bylaw:
• The appointment of the Chief Legislative Officer (CLO) as the Returning officer for the election is found in section 11 of the bylaw.
• The responsibilities of the CLO that are contained in section 2 of the policy are contained in sections 12-14, 19-21, 26-27, 33-34, 37-38, 40, 50-51, 57, and 68-69 of the bylaw.
• The service standards/expectations sections of the policy are found in the same sections of the bylaw as noted above, with the exception of section 2 of the policy, which outlines factors for the Returning Officer to take into account when establishing locations of voting stations. Section 2 of the policy stipulates that the Returning Officer should take into account accessibility, parking requirements, proximity to public transit, and bathroom and kitchen facilities for election personnel. These are best practices and will be implemented whether they are directed by policy or not.
As a result, administration recommends that Council Policy C-CC-14 Votes of Electors be repealed.
2025 Municipal Election Update
• Election Day is Monday, October 20, 2025.
• Advance Voting will be held from Tuesday, October 14 to and including Saturday, October 18.
• New for 2025 is that voters can choose their most convenient voting location on Election Day. See attached maps for voting locations during both the Advance Vote and on Election Day.
• Administration will once again be hosting convenient voting locations within St. Albert Institutions at the discretion of the facilities’ staff.
• The use of special ballots has been expanded in the LAEA. Applications for special ballots may be submitted beginning August 1 until 4:30pm on October 14. Completed special ballot packages must be received by the Returning Officer no later than 7pm on Election Day.
• The City of St. Albert is once again holding joint elections with the Public and Catholic School Boards for the election of their School Trustees.
• Changes made to the LAEA require that the City maintain a Permanent Electors Register (PER) for the conduct of the 2025 municipal election. The City will be using a software system to create and maintain the required PER. The software will strike off everyone who has voted live and will assist in ensuring that there is no duplicate voting during the 2025 municipal election.
• Voters can help speed up the process of voting by registering in advance to vote.
• Changes made to the LAEA mean that the City is unable to use automated voting tabulators for the counting of the ballots for the 2025 municipal election. Instead, the ballot count will be conducted manually. This will mean that the results of the election will not be available on Election Day as has been the standard over the past few decades.
• There are four races to be counted during the 2025 municipal election: the Mayor Race, the Councillor Race, and the Trustee Races for both the Public and Catholic School boards. Additionally, if any plebiscite or referendum questions are added, those will have to be counted as well.
• The majority of the manual ballot count will start at 8pm on Election Day (with the exception of the counting centre, where counting of special ballots and advance votes is permitted to begin at 7:30pm), and will continue until completed, with rest breaks for workers in between. The count is likely to take until end of day on Thursday, October 23. Final results will be posted on the City webpage by noon on Friday, October 24.
• The City of St. Albert is an “at large” municipality, meaning that the City is not divided into wards. Municipalities that vote in an “at large” system may require multiple or specific counting methods due to the difference in the races (depending on whether the ballot requires voters to select one candidate or multiple candidates) and are likely to take longer to count than municipalities with wards.
• Recruitment of election workers is expected to begin within the next month.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
Administration will continue to engage with the Alberta Municipal Clerks Association, municipalities in the region as well as similar “at large” municipalities throughout the planning and staging of the 2025 municipal election to ensure that best practices continue to be implemented.
IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
None at this time.
Compliance & Legal:
If there is redundancy between two policy or guidance documents, it is preferred to repeal one in order to ensure that inconsistencies are not unintentionally created in the future.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
None at this time.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
None at this time.
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
Municipal Elections and Democratic Processes
IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
If Standing Committee of the Whole does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternatives could be considered:
ALTERNATIVE 1: Do nothing.
Financial:
None at this time.
Compliance & Legal:
If Policy C-CC-14 is not repealed, then the policy and the Municipal Elections Bylaw will both remain “on the books”. While the two documents can work in tandem in their current forms, it will leave open the possibility of amendments being made to one but not the other, leading to potential conflicts between the two documents in the future.
Program or Service:
None at this time.
Organizational:
None at this time.
Risks
See Compliance & Legal implications above.
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Report Date: June 10, 2025
Author(s): Marta Caufield, Janice Vollrath
Department: Legal, Legislative & Records Services
Department Director: Marta Caufield
Chief Administrative Officer: Bill Fletcher