Ballot employees needed to get artistic to make sure all residents in Dawson Metropolis, Yukon had an equal alternative to vote within the upcoming federal election, after the ice bridge connecting West Dawson to the principle city closed early.
On Monday, election officers in Dawson Metropolis flew by helicopter throughout the Yukon River to arrange an impromptu early voting sales space — utilizing a folding desk and a pickup truck.
“There are nonetheless individuals crossing, however it’s thought-about not protected,” stated Gabriela Sgaga, one of many election day ballot supervisors in Dawson Metropolis. “And so there are some people who find themselves not crossing … so it was a possibility for them to return and vote.”
The Yukon Division of Highways and Public Works introduced on April 7 that the ice bridge connecting Dawson Metropolis to West Dawson was closed for the season attributable to rain and heat climate. The federal election will happen on April 28.
“We have been encouraging individuals on the west facet of the river to vote at my workplace in Dawson for the reason that begin of the election as a result of we had been involved that the bridge was going to return out a bit of sooner than Election Day or superior polls,” stated Michael Lauer, returning officer with Elections Canada within the Yukon.
After the closure, West Dawson residents had been left questioning how they might make it to the principle to city to vote, says Sgaga, who lives in West Dawson herself, however has been staying in Dawson Metropolis forward of the election.
The make-shift polling station allowed individuals to vote by particular poll, that are open to all eligible voters throughout the nation.
“We arrange the sales space kind of on a folding desk that I introduced alongside. And we had the precise voting sales space on the again of the tailgate of a truck … So we had the privateness display on the again of the tailgate, which I assumed was very Dawson type,” Sgaga stated.
Lauer says 22 individuals got here out to vote on the station. Sixteen of these voters had been from Dawson and 6 had been nationwide electors or voters residing outdoors of the Yukon.
Sgaga says she had a good time serving to her neighbours forged their vote.
“I feel it was undoubtedly fairly a crowd and a few individuals got here down simply to hang around as a result of it was fairly the social occasion. Everyone was fairly tickled.”
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