There were ten aldermen on city council, but four of the positions were already filled: Ambrose Bury, James East, Thomas Malone, and Charles Weaver were all elected to two-year terms in 1921 and were still in office.
The same was true on the separate board, where F A French, Paul Jenvrin, Thomas Magee, and Joseph Henri Picard were continuing.
Citizens League councillors Izena Ross and Bickerton Pratt had surprised many when they too endorsed holding a referendum on the proposal.
A census held in 1921 measured the precipitous population dip that had occurred in Edmonton during the war years and in the post-WWI recession.
The Plurality block voting system meant that it was possible for the largest group (even if just a minority of the voters) to take all the seats, leaving none to the others.