Advance Voting for the Manitoba provincial election begins this Saturday, Sept. 23, and runs until the following Saturday, Sept. 30.
Elections Manitoba has sent out voter information cards in the mail. If you received one, this card lets you know when and where to vote during Advance Voting and also on Election day, which is Tuesday, Oct. 3. If you have not received this card, you can look up your voting information at this website.
The Manitoba Nurses Union is strongly encouraging our members to vote, because as President Darlene Jackson stated in the last edition of The Pulse, this “provincial election will dictate the mandates of those people who we will be sitting across from us at the negotiating table for next year and beyond.”
Voting early allows you to make sure that your voice will be heard and avoids having to rush to the polling station on Election Day, which can get very busy.
You can vote at any advance poll in Manitoba during all eight days of Advance Voting. Please ensure that you take one piece of government-issued photo ID with you, such as your Driver’s License, or two other pieces. Click here to see the acceptable ID.
As you know, MNU is non-partisan and won’t be telling members who to vote for.
However, we do believe in speaking out publicly on any significant proposals when it comes to health care. Because of the many positive aspects of their proposals, MNU has endorsed the NDP plan for health care. Some of those favourable improvements include more incentives for current nurses to stay in the public health care system and a larger role for nurse practitioners.
If you are not able to vote in advance, the Elections Act of Manitoba does allow for time off to vote. Every employee is entitled to three consecutive hours to vote. The timing of when you can be off is at the discretion of the Employer (not any three hours the employee chooses).
For example, if you are off work at 5 p.m., then you automatically have three hours (5 pm to 8 pm) to vote. But if you work a shift from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., you have the right to take time to vote during the work day.
If a nurse doesn’t have three free hours during their shift, during the time the polls are open, the Employer has to give them the time to allow for three free hours to vote. If all or a portion of that three hours is work time, the Employer pays. MNU recommends that you talk to your manager before Election Day to sort out when you will be taking your time off to vote. That way, there is a chance to resolve any problems before Election Day. You can also contact your worksite president for more information on time off for voting.