Free transit to take Ward 6 voters to new polling station

Voters who are concerned about the location of a new Ward 6 voting station will have the option of taking the bus free of charge to the new location in Eastview.

Jim Nicol, city clerk, said the city has listened to voterconcerns surrounding the location of the polling station.

Voters who live in North Centralvoted at the stationlocated at Albert-Scott Community Centre during the last civic election. Roughly a third of the voters in North Central have been re-assigned to the Eastview location.

"People have phoned our office concerned that it was too far for many people to get to," Nicol said.

"We have heard those concerns," he added.

Deron Staffen, a ward 6 resident, is one of the concerned.

The discovery first came when Staffen received his voter card and he saw that his assigned voting station was in Eastview. He had a chat with someone else in the neighbourhood and it was the same situation for that person as well.

"Things got a little bit sour for us at that point once we started discussing this," Staffen said.

"North Central Regina is already known to have kind of a depressed voter turnout," he said. "It's constantly the lowest in the city. It kind of feels like the city was putting obstacles in place for people so it would be more difficult for them to get to the polls."

Staffen said he doesn't remember ever voting at Eastview.

"I think that every municipal election that I've had since I moved into North Central, it's been at Albert-Scott," he said.

There is still a voting station at Albert-Scottbut now some of those who live just blocks away have to go all the way to Eastview.

"It's quite a bit of a hike," Staffen said.

"The reality is, with the changing population patterns and sometimes when the ward boundaries change, these things also move around a little bit," Nicol said.

Nicol was adamant he was not saying thatin an effort to diminish concerns but emphasized thedecision was not made "willy-nilly."

Staffenresponded,"you need to look at the demographics of the area, look at the needs of the area, and make sure that those are being supported and I really don't feel that they are this time."

Public transit will be available on voting day, picking people up at Albert Community School and taking them to the Eastview Community Centre.

People will be dropped off and picked up in 15 minute intervals along the route. Once on the bus, people canexplain they're going to vote and they will not have to pay the fare.

Staffen anticipates the whole process will still be a barrier to voters.