Poll workers crossed Yukon River by helicopter to ensure West Dawson residents could vote

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Poll workers had to get creative to guarantee each residents successful Dawson City, Yukon had an equal opportunity to ballot successful the upcoming national election, aft the crystal span connecting West Dawson to the main town closed early. 

On Monday, election officials in Dawson City flew by helicopter across the Yukon River to acceptable up an impromptu aboriginal voting booth — using a folding array and a pickup truck. 

"There are inactive radical crossing, but it's considered not safe," said Gabriela Sgaga, 1 of the predetermination time canvass supervisors successful Dawson City. "And truthful determination are immoderate radical who are not crossing … truthful it was an accidental for them to travel and vote." 

The Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works announced connected April 7 that the crystal span connecting Dawson City to West Dawson was closed for the play owed to rainfall and lukewarm weather. The national predetermination volition instrumentality spot on April 28.

"We've been encouraging radical connected the westbound broadside of the stream to ballot astatine my bureau successful Dawson since the commencement of the predetermination due to the fact that we were acrophobic that the span was going to travel retired a small earlier than Election Day oregon precocious polls," said Michael Lauer, returning serviceman with Elections Canada successful the Yukon. 

After the closure, West Dawson residents were near wondering however they would marque it to the main to town to vote, says Sgaga, who lives successful West Dawson herself, but has been staying successful Dawson City up of the election. 

The make-shift polling presumption allowed people to ballot by peculiar ballot, which are unfastened to each eligible voters crossed the country. 

"We acceptable up the booth benignant of connected a folding array that I brought along. And we had the existent voting booth connected the backmost of the tailgate of a motortruck ... So we had the privateness surface connected the backmost of the tailgate, which I thought was precise Dawson style," Sgaga said. 

Lauer says 22 radical came retired to ballot astatine the station. Sixteen of those voters were from Dawson and six were nationalist electors oregon voters surviving extracurricular of the Yukon. 

Sgaga says she had a large clip helping her neighbours cast their vote. 

"I deliberation it was decidedly rather a assemblage and immoderate radical came down conscionable to bent retired due to the fact that it was rather the societal event. Everybody was rather tickled."