Voters in Preston choosing new MLA in byelection Tuesday

Interest seems relatively strong in the Preston byelection Tuesday with 18 per cent of eligible voters having already cast their ballot by Saturday at 6 p.m.

Elections Nova Scotia said 2,002 of the 11,125 registered voters had marked their X before the last day of early voting. The final tally will be reported Tuesday morning as regular voting begins to fill the vacant seat in the Nova Scotia legislature.

The election was called after Liberal MLA Angela Simmonds announced on Jan. 25 that she would be stepping down April 1. Premier Tim Houston called the byelection July 7, 18 days before the deadline to do so under the House of Assembly Act.

The election was the first opportunity to cast a ballot in a provincial vote using Election Nova Scotia’s new e-Ballot system in the advance polling. Election day will see the use of regular paper ballots.

There are five candidates vying for the seat: Anthony Edmonds of the Green Party, Progressive Conservative Twila Grosse, the NDP’s Colter Simmonds, the Liberal party’s Carlo Simmons, and Bobby Taylor of the Nova Scotians United Party.

Voters in Preston must vote at their assigned voting location as indicated on their voter information card or at the returning office at 293 Main Street in Dartmouth. They can also use the ‘where do I vote?” tool on the Elections Nova Scotia website. Polling stations will be open until 8 p.m. Vote counting will begin right after the polls close, but if there are still people in line at 8 p.m., they will be allowed to vote.

The Liberals have won the previous four elections in the riding, and five of seven since it was formed in 1993. The Progressive Conservatives currently hold 31 of the 55 seats in the legislature, while the Liberals have 16 and the NDP have six. There is one independent.

Voters who have questions about the by-election can call the returning office at 1-888-503-5835.