The city of Estevan is taking a look back at the recent municipal election to see what went right and what could be better next time.
In the election, 2,695 ballots were cast, which included six votes for councillor and one for mayor, with the following vote totals for those who attained office:
- Mayor Anthony Sernick - 1,254 votes
- Shelly Veroba - 2,175 votes
- Kirsten Walliser - 1,992 votes
- Brian Johnson - 1,762 votes
- Dave Elliot - 1,464 votes
- Tom Mauss - 1,233 votes
- Mathew Dubowski - 1,048 votes
The city held some advance polls before the election, including a drive-thru polling location, with a reported 223 people taking advantage of those.
Special ballots for those living in senior's homes and mail-in ballots were also used for the election, though no number was given for those.
In her report, City Clerk Judy Pilloud stated that the election saw an average turnout and that the manpower was greatly cut down thanks to the use of electronic vote counters. She recommended renting those out for the next election along with consultation services.
Pilloud also recommended using a drive-in advance polling station again in the future, which helped out those with mobility issues and their family members.
Some concerns were brought forward on the topic of eligibility for voting. Pilloud recommended that the city clarify the eligibility rules with more clarification from the province around eligibility rules along with a revamp of the city's election website.
Another item which came up from citizens was confusion regarding which election they had voted for, with the provincial election happening just a couple of weeks before the municipal one. Again, Pilloud said the city should bring this up to the province to make sure that clarification is clear.
Lastly, Pilloud thanked the work of the city's election team who helped make the event run smoothly, along with all of the election workers who stepped up.