The deadline to submit nomination papers for the May 10 elections for municipal council is 2 p.m. on Friday, April 9th. New Brunswick Chief Electoral Officer Kim Poffenroth is encouraging New Brunswickers who wish to run not to wait until the final hours to submit their papers. Historically, many council seats in New Brunswick go uncontested, including in the 2016 municipal elections.

"In the last municipal election, there were 17 municipalities where entire councils were acclaimed across the province, as well as 49 mayors out of 104 who were elected by acclamation," said Poffenroth. "There were also 111 councillors who were acclaimed, which is a significant number."

As of Tuesday, many positions across the province could still be elected by acclamation unless additional candidates file.

"So far out of 717 positions available, 814 candidates have filed their nomination papers as of 2pm. We still have a couple of days left until the deadline to file," said Poffenroth.

Voters who wish to cast their ballots by mail in these elections can also apply for a vote-by-mail package by going to electionsnb.ca.

"We have a portal where you can directly apply for your ballot, which is new for this election," said Poffenroth. 

Some Charlotte County electors will have an extra item to vote on this election. On the ballot in Blacks Harbour, voters will get to weigh in on a bylaw regarding the keeping of chickens.

"It's an amendment to their rural plan regarding the keeping of six egg-laying chickens on personal properties," explained Poffenroth. 

Chickens are clearly a hot topic in Charlotte County where the council in Saint Andrews recently passed a by-law allowing for up to four hens per property for personal use provided they are in a coup and at least 33 feet from any property line.

The provincial government released a green paper proposing local government reforms on Tuesday. At a press conference in Fredericton, Minister of Local Government Daniel Allain said more than 30% of New Brunswick's population doesn't have representation in local government.

"Our objective is not to have that lack of representation continue," said Minister Allain. "We need to reform local government so people in LSDs get to have the ability to a discussion on their quality of services and their quality of life."

In keeping with COVID-19 guidelines, public consultations on local government reform will be conducted virtually and will begin in the coming weeks.