It’s election season once again, as the city ramps up to the Oct. 20 municipal election in B.C.
Nominations opened Tuesday, and prospective candidates have until Sept. 14 to file their papers.
So far, there will be at least two open seats on Penticton city council, with Coun. Andre Martin confirming he is not planning to run again, and Coun. Helena Konanz moving on to federal politics as the South Okanagan-West Kootenay riding Conservative candidate.
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As of Aug. 31, before the long weekend, Coun. Campbell Watt was the only councillor to confirm that he planned to run again. Couns. Judy Sentes, Max Picton and Tarik Sayeed had not decided yet.
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Over the long weekend, Daryl Clarke declared his intention to run for council, while former councillor John Vassilaki is making an announcement Thursday. Andrew Jakubeit declared his intention to run for mayor again, and entrepreneur Jason Cox joined the mayoral race in August.
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For school board, Trustees Barb Sheppard, Ginny Manning Linda Van Alphen, Julie Planiden all confirmed their plans to stand again.
Laurie Darcus, Pentiction’s chief election officer, said that nominations papers were already being received on Sept. 4.
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“We will be scanning them at the end of each day and posting them to the website,” said Darcus.
Voters, she said, will have a number of different options to vote in October, including the official voting day on Oct. 20. There will also be advance voting days on Oct. 10 at city hall, Oct. 13 at KVR Middle School and Oct. 18 at either Cherry Lane Shopping Centre or the Senior’s Drop-in Centre on South Main Street.
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The city has also responded to complaints about long lineups for the 2014 municipal election, where some said they were unable to vote before polls closed.
This year, there will be two polling stations: the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre as well as the Seniors’ Drop-in Centre.
There will also be an option to use a mail-in ballot. Darcus said those ballots will probably be available by mid-October.
It’s a busy time for Darcus and others working on the election.
“I always find them exciting. They are a lot of work, but I am happy to do elections. I think they are the best form of democracy we have in Canada,” said Darcus. “I appreciate how many people come out and vote and wish more people would.”
Darcus noted that voting locally can be tougher than provincial or federal elections, where there are few candidates but a lot of information.
“Last time we had 35 candidates. How do you get to know all those candidates?” she asked. “It’s a more difficult vote for sure.”
Penticton will be using the same electronic voting machines as they have in past years. Darcus points out the machines are very simple, with little to no chance for interference or miscounts, but the city is planning to take extras step this year for reassurance.
“One of the things we are planning to do this year is have an open house to do testing of the machines, so people can see how they work,” said Darcus. “They are very, very simple machines that just read the marks.”
More information can be found online under the elections section of Penticton.ca.