Final Reminders – Nomination Deadline & S. 226 requirements
Final Reminder – Nomination Deadline
This will likely be the final time I contact you in advance of the nomination deadline of 2pm on Saturday, September 10. As I have mentioned several times during this event and others, I have no legislative mechanisms to extend the nomination deadline. I would strongly urge your potential candidates to contact the Returning Office and set a time to review their nomination materials with the Returning Officer.
I will be in contact with you after the nomination period has closed to provide a list of candidates who will be contesting this by-election.
Final Reminder – Section 226
Section 226 of The Election Act, 1996 requires registered political parties to update (or to confirm) the information found in the register of political parties within ten days of the writs of election being issued. For the election, that deadline is Thursday, September 8 at 5 p.m. A registered political party cannot endorse a candidate if it does not complete the section 226 requirement.
The leader or chief official agent of the party must also inform the Chief Electoral Officer as to how they wish the name of the party or its abbreviation (or both) to appear on the ballot and other election documents. This notice can be completed using the E-515 Confirmation of Party Details/Designation of Representatives for an Election Period form, which is attached and can also be found on our website.
Vote by Mail Adjudication
During the recent Athabasca by-election, representatives from registered political parties were invited to attend the adjudication of Vote by Mail ballot kits. During that event, adjudication happened immediately before the counting of Vote by Mail ballots at the Second Preliminary Count and the Final Count.
A number of our Vote by Mail processes have changed for this by-election. Voters are no longer being struck from the voters list when we mail them their Vote by Mail kit but rather when we receive it back and adjudicate it. For this reason, adjudication of Vote by Mail ballot kits will happen daily as ballot kits are received.
We will make arrangements for registered political parties and candidates to observe the adjudication on an ongoing basis if interested. If you wish to view this process, please contact Jennifer Colin, Deputy CEO, at [email protected] and let her know. To be clear, adjudication of ballots is when we confirm that the voter was eligible and that the certificate envelope was completed correctly. It is not when ballots are counted and votes recorded – that happens at the Second Preliminary Count (Wednesday, September 28 for all ballots returned by September 24) and the Final Count (Saturday, October 8 for all ballots returned between September 25 and October 6).
Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan
All information related to the Meewasin By-Election can be found online at www.elections.sk.ca/saskatoonmeewasin2022.