There are two voting days left for the Kootenay-Columbia School District 20 byelection for Castlegar — Wednesday, April 17 and Saturday, April 20.
The byelection is needed to fill one vacant seat at the SD20 Board. The newly-elected trustee will represent Electoral Area 2 — City of Castlegar and part of Regional District of Central Kootenay Area J including Deer Park, Paulson Highway, Raspberry, Renata and Robson. Only residents of that area are allowed to vote in the byelection.
Four candidates will be on the ballot: Jennifer Burton, Emily Duggan, Lindsay Kenny and Birkley Valks.
There was also an early voting opportunity on April 10. Castlegar’s elections officer Nicole Brown reports that 294 people cast advance ballots on that day.
It’s hard to say if the early voting turn out is higher than average or not as the last time Castlegar residents voted for a school trustee was in 2014. In the last two elections (2018 and 2022) the number of candidates running matched the two available seats for the area, so they were elected by acclamation with no vote necessary.
In 2014, the winning candidates for Castlegar received 1245 and 1330 votes.
READ MORE: Q&A with the Castlegar school board candidates
Voting will take place at the Castlegar and District Community Complex (2101 6th Ave.) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you are not already registered on the voters list, you can register at the the time of voting, as long as you have proper identification.
Detailed information on voter eligibility can be found at castlegar.ca/elections.