The date of the byelection to replace Jennifer Rice has been pushed back to November.
The 80-day period for an election was started on Aug. 19 with the appointment of Robert Long and Tanya Ostrom as chief electoral officer and deputy elections officer, but those appointments were rescinded on Sept. 9 after staff said they were unable to complete an election in that time frame due to scheduling conflicts and legislative requirements.
But staff also said delaying the vote could result in a higher turnout.
"Traditionally a byelection has a much lower elector turnout than a general election and we normally hold an election in the third week of November in conjunction with the Prince Rupert Community Arts Council craft fair," wrote Ostrom in a memo to Long.
"I would like to propose we set the byelection date for Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013 at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre. This would increase our chances of a greater voter turnout and allow us time to meet our required deadlines."
Regardless of the date, the byelection is expected to cost the City of Prince Rupert $30,000.