WEYBURN – The City of Weyburn will hold a byelection on Wednesday, May 31, with nominations to open on April 11 and close on April 26 at 4 p.m.
The byelection is being called to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of long-time city councillor Dick Michel, who has served for 23 years and seven terms.
There will be one polling station, at the Credit Union Spark Centre, and advance polls will be held on Thursday, May 25 and Saturday, May 27.
Mail-in ballots will be available for anyone not able to vote in an advance poll or on voting day. Application for a mail-in ballot must be made by 4 p.m. on May 30, and must be received at City Hall by 8 p.m. on May 31 to be counted. They can be dropped off in person, said city clerk Donette Richter, who will also be the returning officer.
She told council she looked into the possibility of electronic voting, and the cost would be $8,200 over and above the cost of the byelection.
She recommended that the votes be manually tabulated for the byelection, and pegged the total cost at $14,000, including the cost of advertising, of ballots, wages for election workers and supplies.
The hours for the poll on voting day will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting at the advance polls will be from 5 to 9 p.m. on May 25, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on May 27.
Voters will be able to register at the polls on voting day, and the candidate names on the ballot will be drawn randomly from a receptacle to ensure fairness.
