UCP leadership election sees nearly 62,000 members registered to vote

Calgary – With deadlines now over for registration, the United Conservative Party has successfully registered  nearly 63,000 registrations resulting in about 61,670 registered members.

Approximately 106,000 members were eligible to register in the leadership election, resulting in a 59% rate of registration.

“The difficult part of the election process is now over,” said Robyn Henwood, Chair of the Leadership Election Committee. “Those who successfully registered and provided the correct identification can now expect to receive their voting instructions and PIN next week and can then use the PIN to vote online or on the phone.”

The UCP used an online registration system to meet the conditions of the Agreement in Principle that required members to provide government issued photo identification. A similar process used in the unity referendum showed a more than 95% voter participation rate for those who register.

“Our records show that normal leadership election participation is between 55% and 65% normally, so we have hit the targets we expected to achieve,” Henwood added.

Leadership election voting will take place between 9 am on October 26 and 5 pm on October 28. Election results will be announced in Calgary at the BMO Centre, Stampede Park, shortly after voting closes.