Phil Garber went to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Wednesday to submit his vote early for the upcoming municipal election, but was turned away because he is unvaccinated..“This restriction was not disclosed on any of the election materials we received, nor has it been publicized,” Garber said in an e-mail addressed to Banff-Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin and sent to all UCP MLAs..Garber also shared the e-mail with the Western Standard..“This is going to be a big problem on election night because eight of the 13 polling stations in our ward are in schools.”.In the e-mail, Garber raises questions on the effect this will have for unvaccinated individuals if they’re refused access to polling stations in the October 18 municipal election..“The bigger issue is whether any location which agrees to be a polling station should not be required to follow the election rules — which I assume forbid restricting access to any voter,” said Garber in the e-mail..“And my question for Alberta Education is whether this is (a) a deliberate policy to disenfranchise Albertans or (b) the unintended consequence of an overly sweeping policy?”.The province implemented vaccine passport requirements on September 20 and introduced the Restriction Exemption Program (REP), allowing in-scope businesses to choose to abide by current health restrictions or opt for a vaccine passport system and operate at full capacity..On September 22, Mayor Naheed Nenshi announced city councillors had voted in vaccine passport bylaw 65M2021, requiring many businesses to require proof of vaccination for entry and barred them from participating in the REP program. Most Alberta post-secondary institutions have followed suit and are now requiring vaccine passports for access to their facilities..The Western Standard reached out to the City of Calgary for verification of voter access to voting stations and was told by a 311 operator according to a recent e-mail, call centre employees were advised that “anyone who wishes to vote in the municipal election does not have to show proof of vaccination status or show a negative COVID-19 test to gain access,” the operator said..The operator also confirmed the e-mail stated all voting stations are exempt from the passport program including all City of Calgary buildings..Residents must vote at their specific polling station. Go to the Elections Calgary website to find your polling station and other pertinent information for Calgary’s upcoming municipal election..The Western Standard reached out to Elections Calgary but did not receive a response before publishing time..ma-2021-municipal-election-resources-voting-stations-within-alberta-schools-2021-08.Download.Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
