Cochrane residents will need to be on a new permanent voters list to cast a ballot in this fall’s municipal election, as part of province-wide changes to Alberta’s Local Authorities Election Act.
The act now makes it mandatory for all municipalities to create and maintain an official Electors Registry—a shift from previous years when keeping such a list was optional.
“This is a province-wide change,” explains Jaylene Robertson, Cochrane returning officer and legislative services manager. “The electors registry isn’t new, but this is the first time all Alberta municipalities are required to use it for a local election.”
Cochrane is working with Elections Alberta to build the initial voter list. Residents will be able to check their status starting in mid-August through a portal on Cochrane.ca.
You can also register now for the election. A link is available on the town’s election webpage, along with answers to common questions about eligibility and polling station locations.
“If you’re already registered for a provincial election, you’ll automatically be on the municipal list,” Robertson explains. “But if you’re not on the list, you can still vote by providing a valid ID and signing a sworn statement on Election Day.”
“All eligible electors must be on the registry to vote,” says Robertson. “We’ll be providing more information through our website and local newspapers as we get closer to the election.”
Still, registering in advance will help speed up the process at the polls—especially in a fast-growing and mobile community like Cochrane.
Elections Alberta Highlights Benefits of Early Registration
Elections Alberta says you can register to vote at any time, and there are several benefits to doing so ahead of an election.
Registered voters receive important updates once a provincial or by-election is called, including personalized voter information cards by mail. These cards outline where, when, and how to vote.
Registering in advance also makes the voting process faster and easier, as it eliminates the need to register at the voting place.
If your registration is up-to-date, you're ready to vote.
If it’s out-of-date—for example, if you’ve recently moved or changed your name—you’ll need to re-register.
If you’ve never registered before, you can do so now.
Future voters aged 16 or 17 can also register in advance. They’ll be automatically added to the Register of Electors when they turn 18.
Election Day is on Oct. 20 and the town has announced several advance polls.
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October 11 and 18 at the SLS Centre gymnasium
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October 14 and 16 at the Cochrane RancheHouse
Ballots will be hand-counted
While the voting process itself won’t be affected, election results are expected to take longer to process.
Despite pushback from the town, the province is moving ahead with changes to the Local Authorities Election Act that ban the use of electronic ballot tabulators. Ballots will now be counted by hand, following the same process used in provincial and federal elections, although Elections Alberta did use tabulators to conduct the count for ballots cast at advance voting places in the 2023 election.
Projected costs presented to Cochrane town council in June 2024 estimated the accumulative changes could add upwards of $125,000 to run an election.
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Mayor candidates update
In the meantime, Morgan Nagel is now officially the third candidate for mayor.
Incumbent Mayor Jeff Genung and Dean Hopkins were previously registered.