Last week, Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership review was supposed to be an in-person ballot on April 9 in Red Deer, but that has been changed to mail-in ballots and, according to Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt, it might’ve been changed because he would not have liked the outcome. 

“I think there was a very likely chance that the Premier was extremely unsure of a favourable outcome for himself. One could speculate that's why changes were made.” 

Pitt says many people are very frustrated by this change as it extends the deadline to actually have the review dealt with and move forward. 

“There were around 20,000 members that purchased memberships and tickets and made arrangements to go to Red Deer. And now, that is no longer a thing. Plans have been changed drastically to accommodate the changing rules.” says Pitt, who also commented on how the changes were made after a certain cutoff date. 

“Part of the problem here is the member the eligibility date, to be able to participate in this process, was March 19. The rules were changed after the eligibility cut-off.” 

Pitt says many people couldn’t attend the event because they weren't able to make it to Red Deer, but with the changes being made to mail-in ballots, they still cannot vote, as they are unable to purchase a membership since the changes were made after the membership cut-off date. 

“The changes to this event should have been made many months ago, certainly many weeks before the cut-off. The executive of our party knew that the registration for this event was creeping up to numbers that were becoming unmanageable, and they failed to make the changes prior to that date.” 

Many members are happy about the changes, according to Pitt. 

“I've spoken to a number of members that are actually very pleased with the change. They are card-carrying UCP members that were not available to make the date in Red Deer and now they are able to cast a ballot and do so. 

Even with changes being made, Pitt still recommends party members not to be discouraged or frustrated and encourages everybody to use their voice when their ballot comes in the mail. 

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