Election 2022

Declaration of Result

At midday on Tuesday October 18th, all candidates and their scrutineers were invited to attend the determination of Official Results.

At the determination, Chief Election Officer Greg Lowis and Deputy Election Officer Janna Bradshaw canvassed the ballot accounts created during the count that followed the election.

The ballot accounts were created under the watch of candidates and scrutineers, all of whom were invited to observe every piece of paper between being removed from a sealed box, until the vote cast had been determined.

The ballot counts were counted, and a random selection of ballot counts were audited to ensure they had been properly entered into the tabulating spreadsheet. A tabulation error that had removed one column (one ballot account) had already been corrected, and the count of ballot counts determined the correct number of columns were present.

Following this determination, the following declaration was made:

I, Greg Lowis, Chief Election Officer of the City of Merritt, declare that in the election for Mayor of Merritt, the number of votes cast for each candidate were as follows:

Accordingly, I declare Michael Goetz elected Mayor of Merritt for the term of 2022 – 2026.

I declare that in the election for Council of Merritt, the number of votes cast for each candidate were as follows:

Accordingly, I declare Adam Etchart, Manuel Olguin, Paul Petroczi, Dana Egan, Wendy Charney, and Claire Newman elected Councillors of Merritt for the term of 2022 – 2026.

I declare that in the election for Trustees of School Board 58 for the Electoral Area of the City of Merritt (Area 1), the number of votes cast for each candidate were as follows:

Accordingly, I declare Gordon Swan, Justin Jepsen, and John Chenoweth elected as Trustees for School Board 58 for the electoral area of the City of Merritt (Area 1) for the term of 2022 – 2026.

Declaration of Election by Voting

The Election has been formally declared as of 4pm on Tuesday September 20th, 2022 (delayed by 1 day due to the closure of offices on Monday September 19th, 2022 for the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II).

Number of Candidates

• Mayor (1 vacancy): Four candidates
• Council (6 vacancies): Eighteen candidates
• School Board Trustee (3 vacancies): Four candidates

Voting Day | Time | Location

• General Election Voting Day: October 15th, 2022.
• Advance Voting: October 5th and October 12th
  * This is set by the City’s Election Bylaw as taking place on the 10th and 3rd days prior to General Voting.
• Location: Civic Centre (1950 Mamette Avenue, Merritt),
• Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm on all three days specified.

Ballot Order

The order of candidates on the ballot is determined by lottery, in accordance with section 117 of the Local Government Act (www.merritt.ca/LGA). The lottery was at 9am on Wednesday September 22nd, 2022. All candidates were invited to attend, or to send their agent. Only candidates, their agent, and City staff may attend. The lottery was streamed online.

PAST EVENT: Learn what it means to serve in Public Office

“So you want to be on Council?” The City of Merritt held a public information session on Tuesday August 30th, 6pm in Council Chambers, City Hall. Members of the public were welcomed to talk to elected members and staff about the workload, requirements, nomination process, and what it’s like to run for and serve on City Council.  Attendance was not required to run for office.

Learn more.  Watch the recording of this event, which was streamed live online.

NOMINATION PROCESS | DEADLINE PASSED

We cannot accept nominations after 4pm on September 9th, 2022 (Local Government Act section 84(1)). That time has now passed.