During the 2021 Calgary municipal election, voter turnout was less than half of the enumerated voters in the city at 46.3 per cent—a figure not that dissimilar to previous elections.

In fact, voter turnout has been on the decline in Canada for decades. Research into the topic has shown that reducing the effort required to vote is an effective way of ensuring that more voters cast their ballots on election day.

Elections Calgary teamed up with the Calgary Public Library and Calgary Transit to continue a pair of successful programs to help voters, well, vote.

The return of the Vote Bus was something that Elections Calgary wanted to do during the last municipal election, but was unable to due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Calgary has a commitment to make voting accessible. We know that Calgarians are busy, and we heard in 2021 that Calgarians were looking for the vote bus,” said Kate Martin, City Clerk and Returning Officer for Elections Calgary.

“It’s certainly our intent to make voting accessible to all Calgarians throughout the city. It is also our intent to meet Calgarians where they are. So the vote bus will be making a number of stops at LRT stations, as well as some of those newer communities where the infrastructure isn’t as available to establish voting stations.”

The Vote Bus will travel to 11 different locations across the city based on the places people were using Calgary Transit for their commutes, and in newer communities to provide more voting opportunities.

However, any Calgarian can use the Vote Bus to cast their ballot the same way they would use any of the city’s 41 advance voting locations, said Martin.

She said that eligible voters will also be able to cast a ballot regardless of whether they are on the province’s permanent elector register or not.

“They will proceed onto the bus where they will be met by an election worker who will confirm their eligibility to vote,” said Martin.

“At that point, they will present their identification. New this year will be the confirmation of whether voters are on the permanent electoral register, so that confirmation check will occur. If a voter is not on the permanent electoral register, they will sign a what we call elector register, they will sign a statement confirming that they are eligible to vote and they can cast one of three ballots.”

Voters will be issued a mayoral, ward candidate, and trustee ballot for either the Calgary Board of Education or Calgary Catholic School Division, which then can be filled out behind a privacy screen on the bus.

Up to two voters at a time can use the Vote Bus said Martin, and there is no limit to the number of voters who are able to cast their ballots.

She said that voters who are still in line at the bus will also be able to cast their ballot, even if it is past the scheduled time.

“We’re hoping that voting is easy, three simple steps. We encourage all Calgarians to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Martin.

CPL helps voters get unbiased information on election

Martin said that working with civic partners was a key part of the way that Elections Calgary was attempting to reach voters this year.

“There’s a lot of information that is being communicated about the election, so it’s important for Calgarians to have a place of truth and a reliable resource to go to. So that’s both the Calgary Public Library, as well as Elections Calgary. We’re really encouraging Calgarians to find the information in terms of where to vote, how to vote, what identification is required, and how to be prepared to come to the voting station and cast their ballot,” she said.

Leanne Hooper, Librarian and Service Design Lead for the Calgary Public Library, said that working collaboratively with Elections Calgary has been essential this year to providing high-quality unbiased information to voters.

“They have been a key partner on the Plan My Vote tool, and they are providing the information to us specifically around voting locations, which is just a piece that We would not be able to do on our own,” she said.

Hooper said the tool allows Calgarians to enter information like their home address, whether they plan on voting on election day or at an advanced poll, and whether they are on the permanent electors register (or if they don’t know) to help navigate the election process.

At the end of using the tool, voters will have a customized calendar entry card that they can put into their own digital calendar to remind them of where, and when they can vote on the day they selected.

“This tool is really intended to just help folks step through. I think we don’t realize how many decisions go into deciding what day you’re going to vote, where you’re going to vote, understanding what information and identification you need to bring with you to vote,” said Hooper.

“Those decision making pieces about who you will vote for are well in your hand.”

She said that the library and its staff, much like they are year round on any issue, are politically neutral. The goal has been to provide Calgarians the tools to make their own choices, not influence their beliefs.

That mission has also extended to other elections programming that CPL is hosting this year.

The popular divisions of power posters that outline the responsibilities of cities, the province, and the federal government have already been placed into library locations as part of that long-running information campaign.

New for 2025, said Hooper, was more information on civic and media literacy to help Calgarians better understand misinformation and disinformation that would be available at branches and at the Central Library.

“All of the information is completely non partisan. It is presented in a way that it doesn’t focus on the candidates at all. Actually it’s just generic information about how you can access the tools to help you best analyze the information that you are receiving,” she said.

The information also contains something that Hooper said would be fun for visitors: Games that challenge people to identify AI created photos, but also the roles of different governmental levels, and the difference between the mayor and a school board trustee.

The library is also set to host MRU political scientist Lori Williams on Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Fish Creek Library for a deep dive into civic issues.

“It’s so important that we have folks such as Lori Williams, and we have also had other experts in programs that have already happened to bring their knowledge, their expertise. They are the experts in in areas that that are helpful to informing Calgarians and bringing that depth of information to to ensure that people are informed and can really think deeply about topics and issues that matter to them this election,” said Hooper.

She said that outside of the programming, Calgarians can also ask librarians across the CPL system for help ahead of the election.

“We would be thrilled to welcome people into library locations, if they do have a specific question about the election—of course all library staff will be non-partisan and unbiased—but we can certainly support you in where to where to find the information that you may be seeking about the election,” said Hooper.

For more details on the Vote Bus, see www.electionscalgary.ca. For more information on the Calgary Public Library’s Civic Engagement programming, see www.calgarylibrary.ca/connect/civic-engagement-and-elections.