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Error leaves voters disenfranchised – Metro US

Error leaves voters disenfranchised

With an abnormally high voter turnout, one Calgary voting station was left with a shortage of ballots.

According to a statement released by the city yesterday, three eligible voters at the Prince of Wales Elementary School were left without ballots to cast their vote for mayor.

“The three remaining people stayed until approximately 9:30 p.m. and then left without voting for mayor,” said the statement. “We regret that this confusion resulted in eligible electors being unable to cast their vote for mayor.”

Mount Royal University political scientist Bruce Foster said running out of ballots is uncommon at the municipal level.

“It’s a rarity because the turnout is usually so low,” said Foster, adding the city should have prepared for high voting numbers based on the advance polling.

Foster said while the three votes wouldn’t have impacted the results of the election, everyone has the right to vote.

“There’s a larger principal involved. The onus is on the municipality to make sure that there are sufficient ballots for everyone.”

The elections office is investigating what went wrong, the statement said.