Final day of voting in 3 Sask. byelections underway
CBC
A trio of Saskatchewan byelections are set to be decided today, the final day of voting in Regina Coronation Park, Regina Walsh Acres and Lumsden-Morse.
Polling locations open at 9 a.m. CST and will close at 8 p.m. CST.
On Wednesday, Saskatchewan's chief electoral officer Michael Boda said he views the byelections as a microcosm of what next year's general election could look like.
He added that Elections Saskatchewan's efforts to modernize the voting process will take centre stage on Thursday as the organization continues a multi-year process that is set to be completed in 2028.
"Election systems are somewhat like a cruise ship, not a speedboat. Changes need to be introduced slowly, methodically, because otherwise you risk upsetting the entire election system," he said.
Among the changes are the option to vote by mail (which was also available in the 2020 election), the use of electronic equipment to count hand-marked paper ballots and the introduction of a voting week.
Thursday's byelections are the first time in the province that voters have had six days to cast a ballot.
Polls were open on Aug. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and today, the official date of the byelection.
According to a tally provided by Elections Saskatchewan for the first five days of voting, 1,861 votes have been cast in Lumsden-Morse, 2,475 have been cast in Regina Coronation park and 3,013 have been cast in Regina Walsh Acres.
That's a total of 7,349 votes across the three constituencies.
Boda said it should not take long for results to start coming in once polls close at 8 p.m. CST.
"I think it's likely that at most locations you'll see reporting between 15 and 30 minutes after the polls for those that are using vote counting equipment," Boda told media during a technical briefing on the byelections.
"It is important to note that because it is such a geographically large constituency, some votes in Lumsden-Morris will be counted by hand."
That means results for the rural constituency could come a little later on Thursday.
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