We are now ten days into Saskatchewan’s 28th General Election. The close of nominations tomorrow will mark a first major milestone of the election period. As of last night, 205 candidates had been officially nominated – during the 2011 General Election, 191 candidates were in place at the close of nominations. Here are a few brief messages in advance of Nomination Day.
Nomination Deadline – Saturday, March 19 at 2 p.m.
The nomination period for the 28th General Election will end tomorrow, Saturday, March 19 at 2 p.m. I have communicated the importance of this deadline to you all several times. Please accept this as one last reminder and issue your candidates who have not filed their nomination packages the same reminder. For the convenience of your candidates and business managers, all of our returning offices will open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 19 (as opposed to 10 a.m.) in order to process nomination packages.
Revised Voters Lists
As communicated to you on the election calendars, the revised voters list will be available to you on Saturday, March 26. Later next week I will offer information on what time that list will be available. The timelines between list revision (held in Returning Offices on Wednesday, March 23) and the delivery of the revised list are short and the availability of the list will depend upon the number of revisions that need to be processed. The options to receive the list will be the same as the preliminary list – either in person on a secure portable media device or using FTP. Your representative will need to provide a signed E-293 form before the revised list will be made available to your party.
Candidate Representatives – Advance Voting
Early next week, I will be sending a message to my head office and field leadership teams encouraging them to vote at an advance poll, rather than on election day. I hope that you will pass the same message along to your candidate representatives – it will allow them to focus on their work on April 4. Advance voting takes place from March 29 to April 2.
Electoral Finance – Expense Exception Limits
In my March 4 Communique, I gave you an update on the expense limits in five constituencies in the province. The table below offers updated information as of Thursday, March 17, 2016 – please note that the constituency of Regina Pasqua has been added to the list. These limits will not be finalized until the revised voters list is produced. It is the responsibility of the candidate to remain within these limits. The final expense numbers for these constituencies will be available the week of March 28.
| Constituency | Number of Electors | Amount per Voter | Calculated Expense Limit | Over Standard Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUMBERLAND | 13,219 | $7.71 | $101,918 | $24,530 |
| MARTENSVILLE-WARMAN | 15,036 | $3.88 | $58,340 | $297 |
| REGINA PASQUA | 15,002 | $3.88 | $58,208 | $165 |
| REGINA ROCHDALE | 15,748 | $3.88 | $61,102 | $3,059 |
| SASKATOON STONEBRIDGE-DAKOTA | 15,097 | $3.88 | $58,576 | $533 |
| SASKATOON WILLOWGROVE | 15,290 | $3.88 | $59,325 | $1,282 |
I have said it in the past, but as always, do not hesitate to be in contact with Jennifer Colin or me if you have questions or concerns.