CARSTAIRS - The Town of Carstairs' elections bylaw has been updated to bring it into line with new provincial legislation, including removing the option for the municipality to use any automated voting systems during the October 2025 municipal election.
Council reviewed the bylaw last month passing a motion updating Municipal Elections Bylaw No. 2010
Updates to the provincial Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) require municipalities to use in-person hand counting of ballots in the upcoming election.
Specifically, both acts prohibit automated voting equipment, such as electronic tabulators, and require recounts if requested by a candidate when the margin is within 0.5 per cent of total votes.
The town’s bylaw has been amended to remove the use of automated tabulator counting systems. The town used automated counting in the 2021 municipal election, the only time the municipality used the machines, chief administrative officer Rick Blair told the Albertan.
The updated LAEA also allows municipalities to require criminal record checks for candidates, but only if a municipality passed a bylaw prior to Dec. 31, 2024 making the checks a requirement.
Specifically, the legislation states, in part, that, “An elected authority by a bylaw passed prior to Dec. 31 of the year before a year in which a general election is to be held, may require a person seeking to be nominated as a candidate to provide a criminal record check.”
In the event, council did not instruct administration to present a bylaw requiring candidates to have a criminal record check.
“It was something that didn’t come before council as a question. It wasn’t presented to council before Dec. 31,” he said.
“All they changed (in the updated legislation) was that you may require one now; it doesn’t say you should or you that you have to or anything like that.”
Candidates in the 2025 election will be required to provide a $100 deposit as part of the nomination process. Candidates elected to council will receive the deposit back, he said.
Changes to the MGA now allow the provincial government cabinet to remove a council member by ordering a vote of electors to determine whether the council member should be removed.
“An elector vote to remove a councillor is limited to councillors who cabinet consider to be unwilling, unable, or refusing to do the job for which they were elected, or if cabinet considers such a vote to be in the public interest by taking into consideration illegal or unethical behaviour by a councillor,” the legislation reads.
The act also now requires mandatory orientation training for elected council members.
Similar to other municipalities
Like Carstairs, Mountain View County will not be requiring candidates to have criminal record checks to run in the October municipal election, say officials.
"Mountain View County council did review the Local Authorities Election Act amendments that allow for municipalities to require for criminal record checks to be submitted and has decided not to require criminal record checks," Chris Atchison, director of legislative services, told the Albertan.
The Town of Didsbury will also not be requiring candidates to have a criminal record check to run in October, said chief administrative officer Ethan Gorner.
