Yellowknife (Oct 13/06) - Yellowknife residents who are not registered in Monday's municipal election are still eligible to vote Oct. 16.

To cast a ballot, unregistered voters must sign a statutory declaration stating they fulfil the eligibility requirements. These are: a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older and a resident of Yellowknife for 12 consecutive months prior to the election. That applies to both the school trustee and city council elections.

For school trustee elections, voters in Yellowknife don't have to cast their ballots in line with their tax dollars.

It is possible for any eligible voter to cast his or her vote for the Yellowknife Catholic Schools trustee elections whether or not they are paying their school taxes to, or have children in that division. There will not be an election for Yellowknife District 1 trustees as all the positions have been acclaimed.

"The legislation recognizes not everybody in a community pays taxes," said returning officer Debbie Euchner. "They may still have children in whichever school system, but are entitled to vote for the school district they support."

According to Euchner, the city conducted door-to-door enumeration this past summer and asked residents which board they supported.

"If they supported both in their taxes they would be asked to choose which one they wanted to vote for," said Euchner. "The voters list and the tax roll are two different things."

Those on the registered voters list can challenge information regarding which school board they support, sign a declaration and be eligible to vote in the YCS election.

Voters must also vote at the designated polling station where they reside. Polling stations are as follows. Great Slave residents - Ecole Sir John Franklin High School; Weledeh - Ecole St. Patrick's High School; Yellowknife Centre - Northern United Place; Frame Lake - William MacDonald School; Range Lake - Range Lake North School; Kam Lake - Ecole St. Joseph's School; and Yellowknife South - N.J. Macpherson School.