The June 7 byelection to choose Thompson’s next MLA is officially a two-candidate race, with nominations having closed May 24, Elections Manitoba said.
Charlotte Larocque of the Progressive Conservatives and Eric Redhead of the NDP will be the only two names on the ballot.
Advance voting will be available at the Thompson returning office in the Thompson Plaza every day from May 28 to June 4. Opening hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 6 p. m. on Sun days.
Advance voting will also be available on May 31 at the Churchill Town Centre Complex, the Fox Lake Cree Nation band office, the Paint Lake Fire Hall, the Pikwitonei empty teacherage trailer, the Split Lake community hall, the Wabowden Community Council office, the War Lake First Nation band office and the York Factory First Nation arena. Advance voting is available May 31 and June 1 at the Town of Gillam office and the Gilbert McDonald Arena in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Residents of the electoral division who will be out of the region on election day June 7 and while advance voting is open from May 28 to June 4 can apply for absentee voting, either at the Thompson returning office or on the Elections Manitoba website. The deadline to apply is June 4 at 8 p.m. but potential absentee voters are encouraged to apply by May 31 to ensure their is enough time to receive and return their ballots.
Homebound persons who cannot go to a polling place due to a disability, as well as their caregivers, can apply to vote from home at the returning office or on the Elections Manitoba website. Applications must be received at the returning office by 8 p.m. on June 6.
Other support is also available to voters with disabilities, including language or sign language interpreters, braille ballot templates and large print lists of candidates. Assistive devices such as smartphone apps may also be used by voters with disabilities, who can also bring someone with them for assistance or ask a voting officer to help.
Voter information cards sent out by Elections Manitoba tell residents where their polling place is on election day. That information is also available on the Elections Manitoba website.
May 19 was the deadline for Thompson electoral division residents to register or update their information in advance of the June 7 byelection to choose the successor to late Thompson MLA Danielle Adams, who died in a highway crash last December.
Those who did not register or update their information by May 19 will still be able to register at the poll and vote on June 7.
Any Canadian citizen aged 18 or over who lives in the Thompson riding and has been a Manitoba resident for at least six months on election day is eligible to cast a ballot.
