N.B. election officials encourage people to vote early, or by mail, to avoid election day lineups

Nomination period closes in New Brunswick Voters now know who will be on the ballot for the provincial election. Mike Cameron reports.

QUISPAMSIS, N.B. — New Brunswickers now know who’s going to be on the ballot when they do cast a vote.

Nominations closed Friday afternoon for party and independent candidates.

Now, election officials are trying to get as many people as possible to vote early to avoid election day line-ups.

Sara Hall is on the campaign trail, with a little help from some supporters, and at the same time, she's keeping an eye on 11-month-old Norah.

This is hall's first time running for office.

"I called and asked 'is there was going to be a candidate for Quispamsis,' and there wasn't," Hall said. "And I thought, people needed to have a voice here in Quispamsis."

Hall is among 226 candidates province-wide.  About two thirds are of those candidates are male.  Political observers say the snap election may have prevented some parties from presenting a more diverse offering to the voters.

"It really appears that this caught some of the parties off guard," said J.P. Lewis, a political science professor at UNBSJ. "It's a real challenge to have a slate of candidates that is more reflective of the population."

Only the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties are running a full slate of 49 candidates.

"So, the candidates list has been finalized but one of the big unknowns in this campaign, one question that can't be answered, is how many people will vote during a pandemic," said Joanne Nice.

Elections New Brunswick is trying to "flatten the election curve" and reduce the pressure on polling stations on Sept. 14. With advance voting and mail-in voting, there are ample opportunities to avoid election day lineups.

"We have had a steady flow of people which is good to see," Nice said of the Quispamsis office.

Nice is a veteran returning officer.   She says there are  procedures that voters will notice when they drop by, but the rules are not very different from other places.

"I think it's also that we are used to procedures when going to the grocery store or the doctor," Nice said.

Returning offices are open six days a week.

Hall has taken on a tough challenge, running in the riding currently held by premier Blaine Higgs.

"It's a completely new experience for me and everything and everything that's been happening since I decided to do this has been a learning curve," Hall said.

It's also a steep learning curve for a lot of candidates, and for election officials,  between now and Sept. 14.