White Rock residents could be headed to the polls to replace a vacant council seat as early as Sept. 20.
Council discussed the upcoming byelection, which must be held to replace former Coun. Ernie Klassen's seat at the table after he resigned May 9, following his election as Member of Parliament for South Surrey-White Rock.
White Rock corporate administration director Tracey Arthur told council the byelection must be held no longer than 80 days "after the date the chief election officer has been appointed."
"This is something that we're currently working on, and it's anticipated that that report will be coming forward to a future meeting, where we would be making those appointments effective July 7. This would permit the byelection to be held on Saturday, Sept. 20," Arthur said at the regular council meeting Monday (June 9).
"Prior to this, the election bylaw must be adopted at least six weeks before the nomination period, whereby the election bylaw presented today will be on the agenda for consideration of the initial three readings."
That bylaw looks to amend three key areas, Arthur noted.
"One, to accommodate an additional advance voting day — the required advance voting would be on Sept. 10, and we plan to hold a second required advance voting (day) on Sept. 16," she explained. "We also look for possible removal of the three-hour special mobile vote we've previously held that at the Evergreen Baptist Care facility," she continued, noting it had a voter turnout of only eight people in the 2022 election.
"It's thought to replace this voting with mail ballot opportunity instead, whereby caregivers can help with residents during the time the resident feels up to voting and receiving the information. This has been done and works well for the Peace Arch Hospital, White Rock Seniors Village Care and Evergreen Baptist Care," Arthur said.
Another potential amendment to help streamline the voting process proposes to amend the bylaw as to how the names will be presented on the ballot, Arthur said, with a trial time for this byelection of having them listed in alphabetical order, instead of using the draw-by-lots system, where voters have to search for names within the list, she continued.
"Both ways are permitted through legislation; White Rock has previously used the draw-by-lot."
The bylaw amendment will also confirm three voting places in the city, she said: White Rock Community Centre, Kent Street Activity Centre and Centennial Arena.
In regards to cost, the municipality is responsible to pay the cost of elections, Arthur noted, saying the 2022 election cost was approximately $90,000 once all filed expenses were accounted for.
"A byelection requires the same steps and processes as a scheduled government election, so there's little opportunity for costs savings, however, this will be something staff will strive to keep costs at a minimum where possible."
Mayor Megan Knight questioned whether scrutineers would be present for mail-in ballots, but Arthur said there's a certification process in place that is followed every election.
"We don't have scrutineers per se, but it's just like anyone else receiving a ballot — they have to sign for it, and if they're getting help with it, that person helping also has to give their name on the certification envelope, so it's a consideration we make while we're certifying that this is a ballot that has been done correctly."
In 2022, there were 142 mail-in ballots for the municipal election, Arthur said, but 65 never came back, and 15 were rejected because certifications weren't filed correctly, giving a total of 62 votes from mail ballots.
Knight also questioned the cost, and whether it would be more than $90,000.
Arthur said the city should be able to remain within that budget, as they may be able to get a discounted price on voting machines.
Coun. Chris Trevelyan wondered whether the timing of the byelection could be pushed back, even a little.
"One concern that I had is the timing ... as we know, byelections have notoriously low turnout, and this election is basically starting in August. Is there any way to push it back even a week or so? Oct. 4, or later in September when people return from vacations?"
Arthur said the nomination period would be in August, but the actual election process would be in September.
"I just figure an extra week or two might get a better turnout," Trevelyan said.
Arthur said that is something council can still discuss at a later date, as the corporate report "is for receipt this evening, then bylaw first three readings."
Coun. Elaine Cheung questioned if there's a law that states Klassen must resign as a city councillor after becoming MP.
"The reason I'm asking is because when MP Klassen ran for MLA, he said in the Peace Arch News he would do both jobs ... he ran and risked us having to pay close to $100,000 for an election," Cheung noted.
Arthur responded she would have to look into whether there is such a (federal) law.
Trevelyan also raised the question of including a referendum in the byelection.
"Since we have to do it anyway ... a referendum or not even — just questions to poll the community — is there a huge extra cost to that?" he queried.
Arthur responded that it "would just be an addition we add to the ballot."
Council unanimously voted on the first three readings of the White Rock election procedure bylaw later in the meeting.
