Will wildfires delay voting in Alberta? A county mayor is seeking support to demand just that

With dozens of wildfires tearing across Alberta, the mayor of one county hit hard by flames and evacuations is trying to start a wave of support to push back the provincial vote.

Advanced balloting is scheduled to start on May 23 and election day is on the 29th.

"This upcoming election is a distraction," Wade Williams of Yellowhead County told CTV News Edmonton Wednesday.

"We need to pause this election for a period of time until we get all these fires and all this under control or we're not even going to have a province to worry about."

Hundreds of Williams' constituents were still on evacuation alert, some have lost homes and many have only recently returned to try to resume a normal life.

With higher temperatures expected over the weekend, Williams believes "we're not out of the woods here yet" and more evacuations are a possibility.

He's also upset with how long it took the government to declare a fire ban and a provincial emergency when the fires started.

"I was on the phone for five days trying to get a fire ban on in this area when half of the county was on fire. It took us five days to get a complete OHV [off-highway vehicle] ban to keep people out of the bush so we didn't have more fires," Williams said.

"And it took too long, in my opinion, for the premier to step up and declare a provincial state of emergency."

The mayor said all politicians need to "roll up their sleeves" and focus on the fire rather than knocking on doors.

He is sending letters to other reeves and mayors, provincial political parties, Elections Alberta, Alberta Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of Alberta in an effort to get a delay.

'CLOSELY MONITORING THE WILDFIRE SITUATION'

But there is no mechanism for delaying an entire provincial vote, even in a state of emergency, a spokesperson for Elections Alberta told CTV News Edmonton.

Under current legislation Chief Electoral Officer Glen Resler can seek a court order to move polling stations, change voting hours or delay voting on a riding-by-riding basis.

"Elections Alberta is closely monitoring the wildfire situation across Alberta, and will continue to do so as we approach voting days," spokesperson Robyn Bell wrote in an email.

If a judge approves Resler's request, a vote could be "discontinued in that electoral division." Balloting would then be required within six months and would operate similar to a by-election.

Williams is calling on all politicians to agree to a delay and seek one from Ressler and the courts.

On Saturday, the Alberta NDP stopped campaigning in six ridings affected by fires and evacuations.

Candidates will resume when evacuation orders are lifted and it's safe to do so, a party spokesperson said Tuesday.

"The Alberta NDP are campaigning toward a better future for the province. Albertans have a chance to vote on that future on May 29th, and that's what we'll continue to work towards," Malissa Dunphy wrote in a statement.

On Wednesday, the UCP expressed concern for everyone affected by the fires.

Now that a writ has already been dropped, the party also reaffirmed that the decision on when Albertans vote lies with the "non-partisan Chief Electoral Officer" and a judge.

"As far as we are aware, the election will be held on May 29 and we are preparing accordingly," the statement said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson