Mail ballot application deadline is Thursday, Sask. election officer reminds voters
Saskatchewan residents planning to vote by mail in the upcoming provincial election have one last chance to request a mail ballot. Applications will close Thursday at 11:59 p.m.
Michael Boda, chief electoral officer for Elections Saskatchewan, says the province has seen a significant increase in the number of vote-by-mail ballots being requested as compared to the last provincial election.
"In 2016, we had about one per cent of voters who took advantage of the vote by mail process," he said. "One per cent is around 4,000. In this case, as of [Tuesday] over 40,000 ballot applications had been received."
Boda says the province is printing 1.3 million ballots at locations throughout the province.
"We don't anticipate to need 1.3 million ballots. But what we do is ensure that we have more than enough for voters across the board," Boda said.
This close to deadline, Boda says it is too late to submit an application through the postal system. However, voters can still apply for a mail ballot through the Elections Saskatchewan website.
Once eligible voters' mail ballot applications have been accepted, they will receive a ballot kit in the post.
Voters will have until Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. to fill out their ballot and mail it in to be counted.
Still, Boda is encouraging mail ballot voters not to wait until the last minute.
"If you have a ballot now, there's no reason why you wouldn't complete it, fill it out and put it in the mail immediately so it can come back and we can begin the process of making sure that it is counted," he said.
