By Canadian Press

BIG TURNOUT

Nearly 70 per cent of eligible Albertans voted in provincial election

Apr 17, 2019 | 3:47 PM

EDMONTON — The unofficial turnout shows nearly 70 per cent of Albertans voted in the provincial election — the highest in decades.

Elections Alberta says about 2,615,000 people in Alberta were registered to vote.

Deputy chief electoral officer Drew Westwater says the unofficial turnout was 69.9 per cent based on the numbers published by mid-afternoon Wednesday.

He says that’s the highest it has been since at least the early 80s — voter turnout was 66 per cent in 1982.

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Melanee Thomas, associate professor of political science at the University of Calgary, says she expects the competitiveness of the election led people who normally don’t vote to cast their ballot.

She says the fixed election date, which required the vote to be held between March 1 and May 31, could have also been a factor.

Voter turnout at local ridings:

Red Deer-North 67.4%

Red Deer-South 63.8%

Lacombe-Ponoka 78.4%

Innisfail-Sylvan Lake 72.7%

Drumheller-Stettler 77.3%

Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre 76.4%

Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills 72.1%

(The Canadian Press)