With the provincial election coming up, Elections Saskatchewan is reminding residents of the key dates of the election period.
“Fundamental to a free and fair election is that every voter has convenient and easy access to casting their ballot,” said Chief Electoral Officer Dr. Michael Boda in a written release. “This election we are broadening access to the ballot for our 800,000+ eligible voters. We are doing that by expanding the vote-by-mail option and formalizing Voting Week with 56 hours of voting spread over six days.”
To vote, you must be a Canadian citizen who is at least 18 years old by October 28th, 2024, and ordinarily a resident of Saskatchewan. You must show ID when you go to vote. Elections Saskatchewan has a guide on what are acceptable forms of ID on their website.
Starting October 11th, voter information cards will be sent to homes across the province. Candidates will have until October 12th to get their nomination packages in.
The last day for voters to register in advance will be October 19th. The 19th is also the final day to apply to vote by mail and to apply for homebound voting.
Voting week will start on October 22nd, with the advance polls open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The advanced polls will be open until October 26th, with no voting being conducted on the 27th. Then, the final day of voting will be October 28th from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Then, the first preliminary count will be held, starting at 8 p.m. This will include voting week ballots, homebound voting ballots and personal care facility ballots. The second preliminary count will be on October 30th and will include vote-by-mail ballots received by October 26th.
The final count will be on November 9th and will include all of the ballots from the first and second preliminary counts, as well as vote-by-mail ballots received after October 26th, along with hospital, remand and temporarily displaced voter ballots.