By TERRY PUGH
With a byelection to fill a vacant city council seat slated to be held this fall, the City of Warman is clarifying the rules surrounding the electoral process.
Former Warman City Councillor Doug Ramage resigned March 10, citing family reasons. A byelection is slated for Wednesday, September 3. The nomination deadline is July 30.
Warman City Councillors voted at a meeting on Monday, May 12 to adopt a new General Election Bylaw. The goal is to ensure clear procedures are on the books for city administration to follow provincial legislative requirements regarding civic general elections and byelections.
The new bylaw also replaces two existing bylaws enacted in 2020 regarding automated vote tabulating and mail in ballots.
Under the terms of the new bylaw, the City Clerk is appointed as Returning Officer, with the City Manager filling in that position if necessary.
The bylaw authorizes the use of automated voting machines to count the ballots as well as manually-counted ballots.
The bylaw authorizes the Returning Officer to forgo the use of a voters list, and to register voters using the Voter’s Registration Form in accordance with the provincial Local Government Elections Act. It also authorizes election officials to forgo the need for a criminal record check for candidates.
The new bylaw stipulates that the notice for the election must be published in a local newspaper in accordance with provincial legislative requirements. However, in the event the newspaper is not publishing due to a holiday break at the time the notice is required to be published, it may be published on the city’s website instead.
The new bylaw also lays out the rules regarding advertising by candidates for office.