Small Nova Scotia Town Sticks To Basics For Fall Election

MULGRAVE - Heading into her sixth stint as returning officer for this small Nova Scotia town, Tanya Tibbo sees little need to reinvent the wheel in terms of carrying out this fall's municipal election during the latest stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Tibbo has overseen four general elections and two by-elections over the past decade, and she is confident that traditional election methods - including paper ballots, a single advance polling day and a single venue for polling stations - will achieve her goal of running this October's vote safely and smoothly. 

While Tibbo is hoping to move the main polling venue from the Mulgrave fire hall to the former school building now known as the all-purpose Mulgrave Memorial Centre, she is optimistic that traditional voting methods will serve the community well in this unprecedented period. 

As an example, Tibbo noted that the town's small geographical area and its limited number of eligible voters - 576 - will not likely require a full enumeration process. 

"We typically get the voter's list from the province, and because Mulgrave's such a small community, what we do is just take the list and drive around town," said Tibbo.

"We are familiar with the people who reside here, so we add anybody that we need to add on the day of the polls."

However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tibbo is promising that she and her election staff will take extra care to frequently sanitize all surfaces used for voting, while sitting up barriers to enforce social-distancing restrictions.