Voting in the Sask. general election? Here’s what you need to know

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With the campaign period for Saskatchewan’s 30th general election officially underway, seven parties are vying for your one vote.

Around a million more people now call Saskatchewan home compared to 1905, when residents first went to the polls in this province. It has grown from 25 to 61 constituencies and, with that, the process of electing new representatives in government has evolved as well.

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With election week right around the corner, here are some of the ways Saskatchewan has made the electoral process more accessible, and how you can participate in it.

The primary mandate of Elections Saskatchewan is to eliminate barriers and make it easier for people to take part in the democratic process, said chief electoral officer Michael Boda.

“We can’t take our democracy for granted here,” he said.

Voting

While Saskatchewan’s first general election had just a single day of voting, there will be nearly a full week in 2024. People can cast their ballots from Oct. 22 to 26 (10 a.m.-7 p.m. ) and on Oct. 28 (9 a.m.-8 p.m.), with no voting on Sunday, Oct. 27.

Those hours will be available in every constituency.

“This election in 2024 is focused very much on broadening access to voters across the province,” said Boda, adding that the name of the game is to make voting “more convenient and more accessible.”

“We’re going to have 56 hours of voting,” he continued. “That’s the most we’ve ever had in the province.”

On the final day of voting in rural constituencies, Elections Saskatchewan will add extra polling stations to further reduce the distances people may have to travel.

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“No voter in the province, except for in remote areas, should have to drive more than 30 minutes to a voting location,” said Boda.

In the spirit of maintaining accessibility, the mail-in ballot program will continue after being expanded ahead of schedule in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The full rollout of the program was not planned until 2028, according to the chief electoral officer.

“In 2020, it was around 13 per cent of voters that chose to use vote-by-mail,” said Boda, who anticipates that number could be slightly lower this year (8-10 per cent).

Voters can apply online for a mail-in ballot kit or call Elections Saskatchewan at 1-833-419-0141 before the Oct. 19 deadline. Once applications are accepted, Elections Saskatchewan is to begin mailing ballot kits in early October. Voters are required to follow the instructions in the kit and return it to Elections Saskatchewan by 8 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the latest.

Tallying the votes

There will be three counts done by Elections Saskatchewan. The first takes place on the final day of voting after polls close around 8 p.m.

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“That’s where we’re counting the in-person ballots,” said Boda.

A second preliminary count on Oct. 30 will cover mail-in ballots submitted on or before Oct. 26.

The final count will come 12 days after the last day of voting on Oct. 28, at which point concrete and complete results will be displayed, including any additional mail-in ballots.

But it won’t necessarily take 12 days to determine which party forms government, unless there are enough tight races that the final count is needed to reveal the victor.

“There will be some close races; last time there were about six of them,” said Boda. “So the decision wasn’t made on the last day of voting. The decision was made once we counted the vote-by-mail ballots two days later.”

Electronic vote counters will not be used this year despite the fact that it led to quick tallying for the 2023 byelections. According to Elections Saskatchewan, it took 26 minutes to count votes from 15 ballot boxes at 15 voting locations where the counting machines were used.

Although that technology won’t be deployed in the general election, Boda said the cities will use electronic poll books — devices that manage the list of approved voters for an electoral region.

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“We usually count up until midnight,” he added.

Register to vote

Eligible voters born in 2006 and earlier will be able to cast a ballot in the coming election.

All voters must be registered, either in advance or at their designated polling location (advance registration is designed to speed up the voting process).

For 18-year-olds who might be wondering how to vote in their first provincial election, Boda laid it out plain and simple.

“Go to our website and … register,” he said. “They can register right up to Saturday, October 19 online. But if they turn 18 on or before October 28, they can go to their poll and they can vote.”

Oct. 19 will be the last day for voters to register in advance and the final day to apply for a mail-in ballot or a homebound voting application.

“We can actually send an election official out with a ballot box and they vote in that way,” Boda said of cases where someone cannot leave their house.

Information cards for registered voters will be mailed out between Oct. 11 and Oct. 21. Cards confirm residents are on the voter list and tell them when and where to vote. Residents can also register to vote by calling Elections Saskatchewan at 1-877-958-8683.

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Standard eligibility rules include that a voter must be: 1. A Canadian citizen; 2. At least 18 years of age; 3. A Saskatchewan resident for at least six months.

There are some exceptions to those rules for students, Canadian military personnel, British subjects who resided in the province at a specific period of time, and election candidates. All voters are required to provide acceptable proof of identity and address (more info at elections.sk.ca).

“If you don’t get on the list before the election begins, you can still have your name added to the list during the revision period, or on election day by going to your polling station,” says the Elections Saskatchewan website.

alsalloum@postmedia.com

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