By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Elections Canada officials are reminding local voters to double-check their registration cards as Oct. 19 approaches.

With millions of names to process in the weeks leading up to the federal election, mistakes are occasionally made — as in the case of Lucas and Carrie Branstetter.

The Branstetters were surprised to receive registration cards instructing them to vote in Craik — mostly because they actually live in Davidson.

Carrie said the mistake arose because Elections Canada only had their post office box number on file. The Branstetters moved to town from Creston, B.C., this past summer.

“They assumed we were on a farm,” she said. “I think it was because we moved so recently . . . The street address just didn’t get transferred.”

Carrie said she contacted Elections Canada and the problem was quickly resolved, so she and her husband will be able to vote in Davidson after all.

“I think I was on the phone with them for maybe 10 minutes,” she said, adding that she has not heard of any other voters in the area having the same problem.

The error on the Branstetters’ cards was less significant than other mistakes reported.

CBC reported earlier this month that new cards were issued to hundreds of voters in the Yukon, after they received earlier cards instructing them to travel to the wrong polling stations — in some cases, several hundred kilometres from their homes.

Marie-France Kenny, who serves as Elections Canada’s regional media advisor for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, said the agency estimated that around 1.5 per cent of voter registration cards nationally are affected by such errors.

More than 28 million Canadians are reportedly eligible to vote in the upcoming election; by that figure, about 420,000 would be affected.

For the full story, please see the Oct. 12 edition of The Davidson Leader.