Voters were turned away from advance voting stations in Williams Lake on Feb. 25 in a surprise cancellation of the School District 27 trustee byelection.
In an email responding to simplymastery's inquiry, the district's Superintendent Cheryl Lenardon confirmed the minister of Education and Child Care signed an order to cancel the byelection that morning.
"The Board has learned that the Chief Election Officer responsible for setting the date for the election scheduled the election for a time outside that permitted by the School Act," Lenardon wrote.
The School Act requires the election to be held within 80 days of the appointment of the Chief Election Officer, who was appointed on December 16, 2024. The last day permitted for the election would have been on March 1, 2025, but it was scheduled for March 8.
"The Board has also learned that adequate steps to obtain the Provincial voters list within the legislated time frames were not complied with."
According to the Local Government Act, a Provincial list of voters must be acquired and made available 52 or more days before the date of the election, which has not been done.
The byelection, which was scheduled for March 8 with advance voting days on Feb. 25 and 26, was being held to replace Zone 4 trustee Ciel Patenaude who resigned in November 2024.
Lenardon said the candidates have been notified of the cancellation, and a new nomination process will be held once the by-election is rescheduled.
More to come
