INNISFAIL – Innisfail's municipal council has given the green light for administration to move forward with its plan to navigate its way through new provincial rules for the 2025 general municipal election that could cost the town up to $60,000 and create election result delays of up to 48 hours.
Following a detailed report by Erica Vickers, the town’s director of corporate services at a regular council meeting on Dec. 9, council members unanimously passed three readings of the 2025 General Election Bylaw.
“We have to put together an electoral registry, the software we have to purchase and the people that will need to be hired to hand count. That's the direction the province is going,” mayor Jean Barclay told the Albertan following council’s approval. “That will be a financial burden we will have to deal with.”
Vickers told council the bylaw was designed to comply with the recent changes the Alberta government made to the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA), and provides “clarity for candidates, voters, and election officials” for the upcoming election that is scheduled for Oct. 20 of 2025.
However, the preparation for the 2025 general municipal election, and determining the winners, is expected to be time consuming and costly for Alberta municipalities, including Innisfail.
“The new rules will compound unwelcome expenses, complexity and potential delays to election results due to the requirement to count ballots by hand,” said a joint statement by the board of directors of Alberta Municipalities in a media release on Oct. 18. “In this respect, the regulation and legislation are completely at odds with the Government of Alberta's commitment to reduce red tape.”
The estimated $60,000 bill for Innisfail is about twice the cost it incurred in the 2021 general election, and because all ballots will now have to be hand counted instead of being electronically calculated, Vickers is predicting election winners won’t be announced for at least 12 hours after polls close.
“It will cause a delay. Absolutely. Instead of having a half hour or an hour response to the results, it likely will be a day or two days after the election when we'll have the results,” said Vickers, who will be the town’s returning officer for the 2025 general municipal election. “It all depends on how long it will take us to count those ballots.”
She told council that under new provincial rules for the 2025 general municipal election, all results must be declared by Oct. 24.
The estimated doubling of the cost for the upcoming general municipal arises from the expected increases for staff.
Vickers said in the general municipal election in 2021 the town hired 12 election workers but for 2025 it’s expected an additional six will have to be hired “to account for paper counting.”
Vickers told the Albertan her office has earmarked half the estimated total $60,000 cost for worker and staff costs.
She said the other half is going towards pre-election training, advertising and election supplies, including the now mandatory paper ballots, and $5,000 for the software to manage its list of electors.
“It (list) will get updated immediately when someone comes and votes. If you come and vote on an advanced vote we have it tracked. You actually can't come and vote again,” said Vickers, whose report to council also outlined election eligibility.
Council was told electors must meet age, citizenship, and residency requirements and provide valid identification as specified in the bylaw and LAEA.
The approved 2025 General Election Bylaw also calls for nominations to be open on Jan. 1 and close at 12 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2025.
Council was told candidates must provide a $100 deposit and meet eligibility requirements under the LAEA.
Voting in Innisfail on Oct. 20 will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Council was told advance voting opportunities will be provided and publicly advertised as required.
Council was told special ballots will be available for voters who are unable to attend voting stations due to absence or incapacity, ensuring accessibility for all eligible electors.
Innisfail’s approved election bylaw will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2025, or until all election-related activities are concluded.
