'Missing supplies' to blame for delayed opening of 2 Edmonton polling stations

Edmonton Elections is apologizing to voters who were turned away Monday morning from two municipal polling stations that opened about one hour late because of missing materials. 

Incorrect ballots for the school trustee vote were also issued to voters at some polling stations, Edmonton Elections said in a statement Monday.

Polling delays

Polling stations at Major General Griesbach School in north Edmonton and Forest Heights School in the city's south opened at about 10 a.m., an hour later than planned Monday, Edmonton Elections said in a statement to CBC News.

"It's difficult to say how many voters this impacted, and if any left the station," Edmonton Elections said in a statement to CBC News.

"We are encouraging those who were affected to come back to their voting station. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and we thank voters for their patience." 

Polling stations at Major General Griesbach School in north Edmonton and Forest Heights School in the city's south opened at about 10 a.m. because of "missing supplies or supplies not easily located," the statement said.

"The missing supplies included some stationery items and OHS [Occupational Health & Safety] materials." 

There are 212 voting stations across Edmonton, which are to operate from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. All voting stations are now open, the agency said at about noon. 

"Although a small number of stations may have experienced some minor delays in opening the doors, we have received reports of only two stations with delays of more than 10 to 15 minutes." 

Incorrect ballots 

Seven voting stations received incorrect school trustee ballot choices Monday morning but, "all issues were resolved quickly," Edmonton Elections said in their statement. 

"The voting tabulators did not accept the ballots as they are only programmed to accept the correct ballots for the assigned voting stations." 

Voting was suspended for residents of those school districts while the right ballots were delivered to the voting stations, Edmonton Elections said.

St. Brendan School is the only voting station that received the incorrect Edmonton Public School ballot choice. Edmonton Elections said they are continuing to monitor all voting stations.

The following voting stations were affected by receiving the incorrect Edmonton Catholic School ballot choice, in which races were acclaimed. 

• Forest Heights School
• Suzuki Charter School
• Argyll Centre
• Hardisty School
• Gold Bar School
• Ecole Publique

Monday's vote will see Edmontonians will choose who they want as mayor, city councillor, school board trustee.

Voters will also take their pick of Alberta Senate nominees, and be posed two referendum questions put forward by the province.

Edmonton has seen record-high turnouts for early voting and are expected to have final tallies for the next slate of municipal representatives later this evening.

As of 12:50 p.m. today, more than 36,000 voters cast their ballot. 

The location of voting stations can be found on the city's website, by entering an address. As well, the city has also created an online resource that indicates the waiting period at each polling station.

Everyone who goes to vote must wear a mask indoors.

Voters must bring identification with their name and address, such as an Alberta driver's licence or identification card. Electronic or printed bills showing proof of current address are also accepted.

CBC Edmonton will bring you live municipal election results on CBC Radio One at 93.9 FM and CBC Listen.  Join Mark Connolly, Nancy Carlson and Tahirih Foroozan for a special broadcast starting at 8 p.m.