The nomination period for all three by-elections has now closed. Please see below for lists of officially nominated candidates as well as several other items of interest.
Candidate Nomination Closed
At 2 p.m. today, the period for nominations in all three by-elections closed. The list of officially nominated candidates and their respective political parties are as follows:
Kindersley
Melfort
Swift Current
As was the case during all recent by-elections, I want to draw your attention to the fact that, during a by-election, there is no legislative provision for a candidate who resides outside of the constituency to be added to the voters list or to cast a ballot. This differs from a general election where the candidate as well as their spouse and dependents are able to vote (and be added to the voters list) under Section 16(5) of The Election Act, 1996. That section of the Act is only applicable during a general election.
Information for Candidates & Candidate Representatives
With candidates officially nominated, I wanted to pass along a document my office has created that I hope you will distribute to your candidates and their teams. Attached is a one-page flysheet outlining some of the “cans and cannots” for candidates and candidate representatives. I have also attached the E-418 “Guidelines for Candidate Representatives” a longer document which contains more detail on what is and is not allowed.
As with previous by-elections, I will offer more detailed information on the role of candidate representatives closer to the start of advance voting.
Parallel Processes – Electronic Poll Clerks at Advance Polls in Melfort
During the last two by-elections, Elections Saskatchewan has been proactive in communicating innovations and departures from traditional processes to our stakeholders in the registered political parties. In the Melfort by-election, we will be using a parallel process to test e-poll books for the third time – but the first in a constituency that we consider “rural.” As well, for this by-election, we have also scaled back the amount of head office support to allow for the creation of comprehensive training materials and documentation for future workers. We will not be using this parallel process in Kindersley or Swift Current.
As I have mentioned in the past, the e-poll book process takes place in parallel to the traditional process – the deputy returning officer and poll clerk will complete every task assigned to them in legislation; alongside them, an additional worker, the electronic poll clerk (EPC) will duplicate the work of the poll clerk. At the end of advance voting, our office will compare this process to the traditional one.
As mentioned during the Saskatoon Meewasin and Saskatoon Fairview by-elections, we will not be sharing this electronic data with registered political parties or with candidate representatives. The traditional, paper-based process is the official one and will be used in all official, legislated capacities. I have attached a memo that our EPCs will be given to explain the process to interested candidate representatives.
Family Day – Returning Offices Closed
As noted on the election calendar emailed to you on February 2, all three returning offices will be closed on Monday, February 19 for Family Day. If you require immediate assistance on that day, all of you will have contact information for both myself and for Jennifer Colin. Should anything arise that needs immediate attention, we will be able to assist you.
Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan