REPORT
To: Chair and Directors
From: Tyra Henderson, Chief Election Officer
Subject: General Local Government Election (2022) Results
RECOMMENDATION:
[Corporate Unweighted]
Report Number: ADM-BRD-347
Date: November 10, 2022
That the Regional Board receive the report titled “ADM-BRD-347, General Local Government Election (2022) Results”, which provides the final election results for Electoral Areas B, C, D, and E as follows:
Electoral Area B – Elected by Voting, Jordan Kealy
Electoral Area C – Elected by Voting, Suzanne Haab
Electoral Area D – Elected by Acclamation, Leonard Hiebert
Electoral Area E – Elected by Acclamation, Dan Rose, for information.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Election by Acclamation – Electoral Areas D and E:
At the close of the nomination period on September 9, 2022, the Chief Election Officer for the Peace River Regional District had received only a single nomination for Electoral Area D, and a single nomination for Electoral Area E.
Following the expiry of the period in which a person can challenge a nomination (Sept 13), the expiry of the withdrawal period (Sept 16) and the last day for hearing a challenge, (Sept 19), the Chief Election Officer must, under the Local Government Act s. 98, declare an election by voting or an election by acclamation.
Leonard Hiebert (Area D) and Dan Rose (Area E) were declared elected by acclamation on September 20, 2022.
Election by Voting - Electoral Areas B and C:
At the close of the nomination period on September 9, 2022, the Chief Election Officer for the Peace River Regional District had received three nominations for Electoral Area B and two nominations for Electoral Area C. Candidate Michael Fitzgerald contacted the Chief Election Officer on September 23, 2022, seeking to withdraw from the election. As the deadline to withdraw specified in the Local Government Act was September 16, the Chief Election Officer submitted an application to remove him as a candidate to the Minister of Municipal Affairs immediately, and approval was received via Ministerial Order M285 for Mr. Fitzgerald to withdraw from the Area B election on September 26, 2022.
At the close of voting on October 15, 2022, preliminary election results were that Jordan Kealy was elected in Area B, and Brad Sperling was elected in Area C (233-232) Due to the narrow margin in Area C, (originally believed to be a 232-232 tie, and upon receipt of additional ballots for combination to preserve secrecy, one additional ballot was identified), the Chief and Deputy Chief Election Officers conducted an informal recount and review of voting materials on Monday, October 17, 2022. The result
Staff Initials: Dept. Head: Tyra Henderson
CAO: ShawnDahlen Page 1 of 3
of the recount was that Suzanne Haab was elected in Area C, by a margin of 234 votes to 231 votes. As part of the review of the election materials given the close margin, and based on a clarification of eligibility query fielded by the Chief Election Officer on Advanced Voting Day on October 5th, the voting books were closely examined for the polling stations that issued Area C ballots (Charlie Lake, Taylor, and Fort St. John). As a result of this scrutiny, it was noted that a number of potentially ineligible voters had been issued ballots in the Area C election. The Chief Election Officer brought this matter to the attention of the Chief Administrative Officer and PRRD legal counsel on the afternoon of October 17th , and contacted the candidates regarding the concern on October 18th .
Jordan Kealy, Area B, and Suzanne Haab Area C, were declared elected as the candidates receiving the most votes, on Tuesday, October 18th. The announcement included an advisory to the public that the Area C election would be challenged, under the Local Government Act s.153.
Staff worked with legal counsel to prepare the necessary petition to the Supreme Court of BC, which was submitted on Thursday, November 3, 2022. The Court must assign a hearing date that is at least 10 days but not later than 21 days after the date the petition is filed. At the time of writing of this report, the hearing date was not known
The power of the court on an application is contained in the Local Government Act s.155.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:
1. None.
STRATEGIC PLAN RELEVANCE:
☒ Not Applicable to Strategic Plan
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION(S):
Election costs were shared between the General Local Election and the five assent voting opportunities that were held at the same time. COVID funds set aside in 2021 to assist with assent voting opportunities were also used this year, in an effort to encourage voters to return to ‘normal’ activities and get out and vote. Invoices continue to arrive; approximately $90,000 was spent on advertising and outreach, including mandatory newspaper notices, election official recruitment radio ads, general election and assent voting awareness radio and newspaper placements, a direct mail-out to all residents, a targeted outreach mail-out information package to community groups, and placement of 23 roadside signs. Approximately $46,000 was spent on election staff (including mileage and meals) in 19 locations. Other costs include ballots, ballot boxes, and other stationary supplies. Once all expenses are invoiced and paid, staff will review costs to inform future budget allocations for election expenses.
COMMUNICATIONS CONSIDERATION(S):
All candidates have been informed of the results, and Area C candidates have been advised regarding the application to the BC Supreme Court. The results were posted to the PRRD website, Civic Info, and Elections BC. The required notice in the BC Gazette (within 30 days of elected candidates taking office, - by Dec. 9 2022) will be submitted for printing in the December 1st edition of the BC Gazette.
Extensive communications efforts were done to raise general awareness of the 2022 General Local Election and associated assent votes, far above and beyond the mandatory public newspaper notices.
Attached for your information is the 2022 Local Government Election Outreach Report, which illustrates the extensive public notice and education undertaken this election year.
OTHER CONSIDERATION(S):
If the results submitted in this report are changed by an application to the Court, a supplementary report must be provided to the Board reflecting the changed results.
Attachments:
1. Declaration of Acclaimed Candidates, Electoral Area D and E
2. Determination of Election Results, Electoral Area B 3. Determination of Election Results, Electoral Area C
4. Declaration of Election Results – Area B
5. Declaration of Election Results – Area C
6. 2022 General Local Election Outreach Report
LGA s.98 VC s.48
PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT DECLARATION OF ELECTION BY ACCLAMATION
I, ____Tyra Henderson________, Chief Election Officer for the Peace River Regional District, do hereby declare, pursuant to section 98 of the Local Government Act, the following candidate(s) elected by acclamation:
Office of Director of Electoral Area D
Leonard Hiebert
Office of Director of Electoral Area E
Dan Rose
Given under my hand at __Dawson Creek ___, British Columbia, this ___20th __ day of September, ______, 2022_.
Tyra Henderson
Tyra Henderson
Chief Election Officer
Form No. 14-1 LGA s.145(8), VC s. 107(8)
PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT
DETERMINATION OF OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
Electoral Area B Director
Advanced (if offered) and General Voting Kitt Kealy
Buick + Prespatou (combined under LGA s.137) 16 68
Montney 43 56
Clearview 10 38
Cecil Lake 26 39
Fort St. John + Charlie Lake + Wonowon (combined under LGA s.137) 61 42
TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES 156 243
This determination of official election results was made by the Chief Election Officer on October 19, 2022 at 4 pm and is based on ballot accounts as amended or prepared by the Chief Election Officer.
Tyra Henderson
Chief Election Officer
Form No. 14-1
LGA s.145(8), VC s. 107(8)
PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT DETERMINATION OF OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
Electoral Area C Director
Advanced (if offered) and General Voting Haab Sperling
Charlie Lake (Oct 15) 95 79
Taylor (Oct 5 & 15) 23 22
Fort St. John (Oct 5,12, & 15 116 130
TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES 234 231
This determination of official election results was made by the Chief Election Officer on October 19, 2022 at 4 pm and is based on ballot accounts as amended or prepared by the Chief Election Officer.
Tyra Henderson
Chief Election Officer
Form No. 14-2
LGA s.146(2)(a), VC s. 108(2)(a)
PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT
DECLARATION OF OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION – 2022
Electoral Area B
I, Tyra Henderson, Chief Election Officer, do hereby declare elected, Jordan Kealy, who received the highest number of valid votes for the office of Electoral Area B.
Dated at Dawson Creek, BC this 19th day of October, 2022.
Tyra Henderson, Chief Election Officer
Form No. 14-2
LGA s.146(2)(a), VC s. 108(2)(a)
PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT
DECLARATION OF OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION – 2022
Electoral Area C
I, Tyra Henderson, Chief Election Officer, do hereby declare elected, Suzanne Haab, who received the highest number of valid votes for the office of Electoral Area C.
Dated at Dawson Creek, BC this 19th day of October, 2022.
Tyra Henderson, Chief Election Officer
Community group outreach
In July 2022, the PRRD mailed 40 outreach packages to local community groups in each electoral area. The packages contained three advertising materials (a general awareness poster, assent votes poster and a tent card) and an overview letter. The letter outlined the request for each organization to help spread the word about the election in their communities, instructions for assembly and posting of the advertising materials, key dates for the election, the assent votes, the PRRD elections webpage and contact information for election officials.
The mailing list included the following organizations:
Bessborough Community Club
Camp Sagitawa (Moberly Lake)
Cecil Lake Recreation Commission
Charlie Lake Conservation Society
Chetwynd Rod and Gun Club
Clearview Arena
Cutbank Community Club
Dawson Creek & District Arena
Dawson Creek Sportsman's Club
Dawson Creek Youth Centre Society
Doe River Recreation Commission
Double H Saddle Club
Farmington Community Association
Goodlow Recreation Grounds
Groundbirch Recreation Commission
Halfway Graham Community Club
Halfway Graham Community Hall
Jackfish Community Hall
Kelly Lake Community Centre
Little Giant Figure Skating (Chetwynd)
Digital advertising
Moberly Lake Community Association
Moberly Lake Community Hall
Montney Recreation Commission
North Peace 4-H District Council
North Peace Fall Fair Society
NP Community Housing
Osborn Community Hall
Pine Valley Exhibition Park (Chetwynd)
Rock of Ages Bible Camp Society
Rose Prairie Curling Center Society
Sunset Prairie Recreation Commission
Swan Lake Enhancement Society
Tomslake Recreation Commission
Tomslake Cultural Community Assc.
Tse'k'Qwa Heritage Society
Tupper Community Club
Western Horizon Pony Club (Groundbirch)
The PRRD utilized the digital presence of local media outlets to promote the Local Government Election and assent voting opportunities via five graphic ads linked to the PRRD elections webpage (prrd.bc.ca/getoutandvote) The digital ads aligned with key dates in the communications plan. The PRRD also displayed four graphic ads on the homepage of its website. The PRRD's homepage receives an average of 17,337 non-staff visits per month.
Energeticcity.ca (linked website banner)
The energeticcity.ca website has a self-reported metric of 15,000 visits. All digital graphics were linked to the PRRD elections webpage.
March 3 to July 31
Digital asset for potential candidates "Are you candidate material"
March 3 to August 31
Digital asset promoting general awareness of the election "It's an election year"
August 5 to September 9
Digital asset announcing that nomination packages are available
September 26 to October 15
Digital asset promoting voting days, assent votes and candidate votes
October 13 to October 15
Digital asset promoting awareness of the assent votes
Prrd.bc.ca, linked website banner
February 3 to October 15
Digital asset for potential candidates "Are you candidate material?"
July 29 to September 8
Digital asset announcing that nomination packages are available
September 12 to October 15
Digital asset promoting the assent votes "5 assent votes you need to know about this election year"
October 5, October 12 and October 15
Digital asset promoting opening of the polls
Prrd.bc.ca, news posts
The PRRD posted 13 news posts (as of the date of this report) about the Local Government Election to the PRRD website. All articles posted to the news category of the PRRD's website are emailed to 561 contacts on the PRRD News subscription list.
August 26: NominationPackagesAvailablefor2022LocalGovernmentElection (media release)
August 30: Candidateannouncement:LeonardHiebert,ElectoralAreaD
August 31: Assentvotingopportunities(Media release)
September 6: Candidateannouncement:BradSperling,ElectoralAreaC
September 6: Candidateannouncement:DanRose,ElectoralAreaE
September 6: Candidateannouncement:JordanKealy,ElectoralAreaB
September 9: Candidateannouncement:SuzanneHaab,ElectoralAreaC
September 9: Candidateannouncement:MichaelFitzgerald,ElectoralAreaB
September 9: Candidateannouncement:JeffKit,ElectoralAreaB
September 9: 2022GeneralElectionDeclarationofCandidates
October 4: Advancevotingopens(media release)
October 14: General Voting Day (media release)
October 15: Preliminary Voting Results
Prrd.bc.ca, events calendar
The PRRD published three events (for each voting opportunity) to the events calendar on the PRRD website. Each event contained an overview of the key dates, assent votes, candidate votes and a link to the elections webpage.
Strategic partnerships, cross-promotion
The PRRD worked with member municipalities to share GetOutandVotelogo graphics, QR codes and assets for digital and social media. The PRRD also participated in a cost-share initiative with member municipalities for promotional items
NEBC Alerts (Everbridge)
The PRRD issued nine NEBC alerts to promote each voting opportunity in the Local Government Election. NEBC alerts (Everbridge) is a digital notification system used by the Regional District and member municipalities. The system pushes alerts out to subscribed users using a variety of methods (email, text, fax, page), based on the preferences set by the user.
The following alerts were issued via the Everbridge App, text, personal email and home phone number, depending on user settings:
VOTING OPPORTUNITY AREA
SENT TO *CONFIRMED
Advance Vote: October 5, 2022 B 96 contacts 19
Advance Vote: October 5, 2022 C 173 contacts 28
Advance Vote: October 5, 2022 PRRD - except areas B &C 1,612 contacts 273
Advance Vote: October 12, 2022 B 96 contacts 17
Advance Vote: October 12, 2022 C 173 contacts 25
Advance Vote: October 12, 2022 PRRD - except areas B &C 1608 contacts 225
General Voting Day: October 15, 2022 B 96 contacts 20
General Voting Day: October 15, 2022 C 173 contacts 24
General Voting Day: October 15, 2022 PRRD - except areas B &C 1606 contacts 197
*Indicates that the contact opted to take an additional step and send confirmation that they received the alert. If a contact did not "confirm" receipt of the message, it does not necessarily mean that the contact did not receive the alert.
Media release(s) and earned media
The PRRD issued four media releases (as of the date of this report) to promote the 2022 LGE and assent voting opportunities:
August 26: NominationPackagesAvailablefor2022LocalGovernmentElection
August 31: Assentvotingopportunities
October 4: Advancevotingopens
October 14: Generalvotingday
Local media in the Peace region (and one CBC outlet) published 17 articles and two livestreamed interviews on PRRD-specific election items (candidates, voting stations and/or assent voting opportunities) leading up to General Voting Day.
Energeticcicty.ca maintained a dedicated page on its website for Peace River Regional District candidates, and conducted live-streamed interviews with all Electoral Area Director candidates on its livestreamed radio show, MooseTalks. The recorded interviews were made available on Apple Podcasts, energeticcity.ca's website and social media platforms.
Alaska Highway News
October 15
ELECTION DAY: Who's running and where to vote
October 11
ADVANCED POLLS: Here's who's running for regional director in the PRRD
September 28
Farmer Jordan Kealy, one of two names on area B ballot to replace Karen Goodings
September 16
Civic Election ballots finalized around Northeast
September 11
PRRD is set for pair of elections
August 22
PRRD has tax requisition questions for fall election
CBC (British Columbia)
October 14
B.C. voters will be choosing more than councillors on Saturday. Here's what else might be on your ballot
Dawson Creek Mirror
October 5
PRRD has tax requisition questions for fall election
September 11
PRRD is set for pair of elections
Energeticcity.ca
Dedicated election page for all Peace region LGE candidates, organized by community (Peace River Regional District)
Moose Talks - PRRD Area B Candidates for the 2022 Election (September 19)
Moose Talks - PRRD Area C Candidates for the 2022 Election (September 26)
October 14
Peace Region referendums available at polls on Oct. 15
October 14
"It makes an Impact:" voting in Fort St. John's municipal election, explained
October 4
Advanced voting polls are open
September 27
Electoral Area B down to two-way race
September 9
Peace River Regional District confirms candidates for upcoming election
August 31
Five PRRD service bylaws up for voter approval in local government election
July 27
Leonard Hiebert runs for third term as Electoral Area D director
May 16
Fort St. John Public Library funding referendum bylaw process begun
Print advertising
In addition to the statutory advertising required by the Local Government Act, the PRRD utilized regional newspapers, regional mailout, centralized QR code and educational wall posters at every voting station to promote the Local Government Election and assent voting opportunities.
Newspaper, Regional District Highlights
Information on the Local Government Election and assent voting opportunities was included in five Regional District Highlights (RDH) issues throughout the year leading up to General Voting Day.
The RDH is a full-page ad that appears in the Alaska Highway News, Dawson Creek Mirror and Northern Horizon newspapers, and is in addition to the statutory elections advertising required by the Local Government Act.
February 2022: Markyourcalendarsforthe2022generallocalelections!
March 2022: Itisanelectionyear;areyoucandidatematerial?
August 2022: ElectionseasonkicksoffinthePeaceregion
September 2022: Assentvotingopportunitiesthat,ifapproved,couldimpactyour taxes
October 2022: SpecialLocalGovernmentElectionIssue:Electorstaskedwithvoting fortwoElectoralAreaDirectorsanddecidingthefateoffiveproposedservice functions
Regional mail-out (flyer)
A flyer outlining the assent voting opportunities and general local government election process was bulk mailed to 16,392 residences in the Peace region on October 4, 2022, with estimated delivery completed by October 7, 2022.
AREA PIECES MAILED AREA PIECES MAILED
Baldonnel 121 North Pine 28
BC Altona 89 Pink Mountain 23
Buick 63 Pouce Coupe 360
Cecil Lake 194 Prespatou 20
Charlie Lake 346 Prophet River 20
Chetwynd 881 Rolla 85
Clayhurst 38 Rose Prairie 75
Dawson Creek 4,465 Sunset Prairie 28
Fort St. John 8,142 Taylor 315
Goodlow 27 Tumbler Ridge 500
Groundbirch 86 Tomslake 95
Hudson's Hope 130 Wonowon 31 Montney 81
TOTAL 16,392
Regional QR code
The PRRD created a centralized GetOutandVoteQR code linked to the prrd.bc.ca/getoutandvote webpage and shared it with member municipalities. The QR code was featured in all PRRD print advertising to drive traffic to the election webpage. As of the date of this report, the QR code has 420 total scans
Out-of-home advertising
Promotional materials
The PRRD collaborated with the City of Fort St. John and member municipalities in a cost-share program for promotional items and outreach initiatives. From September 22 to October 15 2022, the PRRD participated in the initiatives and distributed the materials as follows:
INITIATIVE DISTRIBUTION DETAILS
Distributed at voting locations 'Future voter"
'I Voted'
at voting locations Magnets Distributed at businesses and public spaces across the region
Movie Theatre ads Get out and Vote (FSJ)
Coasters
Distributed to businesses and public spaces across the region
Coffee sleeves Distributed to businesses and public spaces across the region
Tent cards Distributed to businesses and public spaces across the region
Radio ads Get out and Vote (FSJ ) – PRRD did their own radio ads in addition Posters Distributed to all PRRD transfer stations and member municipalities.
Billboards
The PRRD installed 23 roadside billboards on October 4 near the 19 voting stations across the region. The billboards included the 'Get Out and Vote' prompt, the nearest voting station with respective dates and hours, the elections webpage and contact number.
AREA/COMMUNITY
Fort St. John x2 Placement #1
Fort St. John Placement #2
