If you remember buying a membership that supports the United Conservative Party, you may want to double check when it expires.

Roughly 700 UCP memberships in the Airdrie-Cochrane riding are expected to see their annual memberships lapse in the short while which could leave some voters without a voice at the polls due to certain rules.

Russell Kossowan, President of the Airdrie-Cochrane United Conservative Party Constituency Association says expiring memberships are a concern for the UCP overall but it is extremely concerning for our own constituency. With a high number of memberships set to lapse, getting the message out is key. "The current rules say they must have a membership at least 21 days prior to the election."

While no 'official date' has been set, it is anticipated UCP members in the Airdrie-Cochrane riding will head to the polls somewhere around the end of September. "We have five people elected to what is referred to as the LCNC, Local Constituency Nomination Committee, and they are preparing a plan/budget as to how we are going forward with the election of our candidate."

Kossowan says the last thing our local chapter wants to see is the Returning Officer having to turn people away due to lapsed membership. "We don't want to do that, we don't want to turn away our supporters. Our VP of Membership, Mr Roger Grant, has been working really hard at coming up with a program in contacting people to renew their memberships."

Nevermind expiring memberships, some residents still don't realize that in order to vote in the UCP nomination election you need to be a valid member of the United Conservative Party, to begin with. 

While there is still plenty of time to renew, it is a simple process and doing it now is not a bad idea. "What is important to remember, is that if your membership is going to lapse, for example at the end of September, and you go today and buy another year it gets added on to your existing membership. So you are not cutting your existing membership short by buying a new one."

If you are unsure if and when your membership lapses, shares Kossowan, you can confirm your membership expiration date a couple different ways. One, you can contact the Party Office at 1-888-465-2660 (a timely response may be hard pressed due to the sheer volume of calls) or you can email Kossowan russell.kossowan@tr3energy.com who will forward your request to VP, Roger Grant to double check your membership status.

Whether new or renewing your membership the cost is $10 for one year, $20 for two years and $25 for three; all funds go to support the United Conservative Party as a whole to help them meet their overall goals.

If you know you need to renew or you want to buy a membership to vote, go HERE and take note our constituency is still listed as Banff-Cochrane.

Although five people have filed with Elections Alberta, so far Airdrie-Cochrane constituents have four candidates to choose from. In order to be considered an 'official nominee', each candidate must also be registered with the United Conservative Party and only four of the five have done so. In the race for the Airdrie-Cochrane riding, we have nominees: Mauri Stiff, Peter Guthrie, Laura Talsma, and Morgan Nagel. Kossowan says, personally, he would be surprised if another name popped up, but he has been told to expect the unexpected. "I keep getting told to expect it but at this point in time, I personally, do not know of anybody else that is planning on putting their name forward."