Red Deer city council discusses concerns around 2025 municipal election

Councillor Chad Krahn asked the city why it decided not to release preliminary results as they came on election day and opted to instead release official results later on.

City manager Tara Lodewyk said that was one of the major learnings they heard from the community while putting together the report.

“That’s something that definitely will be considered as we go forward in the next election, but it was definitely feedback from our community, as well as those that were running to put that information out as we counted the polls,” Lodewyk said.

Councillor Kraymer Barnstable also reiterated frustration with how long it took for election results to come out, as well as the lack of candidates’ thoughts on the election process included in the report.

Lodewyk explained there is room for improvement when it comes to the experience side of it.

“We were so concerned about adjusting to the hand counting and making sure we got that right, and that our error percentage was so low that I think next time we’d have the ability to have more confidence to put out those unofficial results,” she said.

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes raised concerns about low voter turnout. She asked if there was any consideration given to increasing community voter stations.

According to the report, only 15,463 of 72,766 eligible voters went to the seven polls available to vote. This was a decrease from the 2021 election, where 21,739 of 71,475 eligible voters cast their vote.

Administration said they will consider that in the future when it comes to finding the balance between more voter stations while also finding the resources to do so.

Mayor Cindy Jefferies said she shared a lot of the same concerns but added that she was concerned by the increase in election costs.

In 2025, accumlated $1.3 million in election costs of the $1.4 million budget approved. In comparison, in 2021, the city spent $853,567 of the approved $793,466 budget.

The costs of holding elections have gone up, and Jefferies explained she hopes to have conversations with the provincial government or Alberta Municipalities about how the community had a substantial budget increase.

Councillor Jaelene Tweedle highlighted the fact that while wait times at the polls were longer than in 2021, there also happened to be a decrease in advance voters.

In 2025, the average reported wait time at the polls was 60 to 90 minutes compared to five to 30-minute wait times in 2021.

Furthermore, in 2025, there were 6,096 advance votes cast compared to the 10,621 in 2021.

“Overall, I know this was a learning experience for everyone, and I know the public had some frustration about the long wait for results… but I would like to thank the city for the work they’ve put into this. I realize there’s learning to be had, and I think that will only help us moving forward,” Tweedle added.

Councillor Bruce Buruma said it’s important that citizens have confidence in the election process and argued that many of the issues identified can be attributed to changes made in the election process, including moving away from electronic tabulators.

“That was a process that municipalities across the province were not in favour of,” Buruma said. “There is no evidence in relation to that, so I think it’s important that we continue to move forward on the advocacy with that.”

He added that candidate feedback is also one of many perspectives that could help improve the process for everyone.

The full report can be accessed in city council’s agenda packet from pages 19 to 44. Click here to locate it.

by Ian Gustafson

Red Deer city council discusses concerns around 2025 municipal election

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