REGINA, March 29, 2016 – In advance of Saskatchewan’s 28th General Election on April 4, below are some reminders for media.
- Advance polls are open Tuesday, March 29 to Friday, April 1, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday, April 2, Noon to 7 p.m. CST.
- Polls are open on election day, Monday, April 4, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST
- The preliminary voting results will be posted live, in real time, as they are received after 8 p.m. on April 4 and throughout the night at results.elections.sk.ca (note this page will go live April 4). This page can also be accessed from www.elections.sk.ca. The results will be shared electronically with the Canadian Media Elections Consortium (CMEC) for distribution to all media.
The results website is optimized for mobile, tablet and desktop devices and will display real-time results at the constituency level as polling stations in all 61 constituencies report back to their returning offices. The results page will automatically refresh every 60 seconds so there is no need to click refresh on your browser.
- As of today, there will be 3,559 ballot boxes (i.e. polls reporting) reported on for the preliminary voting results website on election night. Note this number is subject to change right up until April 4 in case some polls are split or combined. This number is made up of:
- 2,930 regular polls
- 173 advance polls
- 395 mobile polls (personal care homes)
- 61 homebound voting
Not included in the election night results are absentee (vote-by-mail or voting in a returning office) ballots and ballots from voting in hospitals and remand centres. These ballots are counted after Monday, April 4 and will be included as part of the final, official results to be released Saturday, April 16.
- Media are encouraged to view, download and share the stock photos and video provided by Elections Saskatchewan at: elections.sk.ca/media/photos.
- Per The Election Act, 1996, no personal electronics (including cameras and video cameras) are permitted for use inside a voting place. Elections Saskatchewan wants to provide some flexibility to media for doing their work, while at the same time protecting the secrecy of the ballot and of the privacy of the voting public. Therefore, media may take photos or record video inside the building of a voting place provided that no voter objects, but are not allowed to go past the information officer and into the room in which the voting is taking place. For example, photos or recording video can be taken through an open doorway. If a voter objects, the photography or video recording should stop until that voter has finished voting and has left the voting place.
- If any member of the media has a request to bring their photography or video equipment inside a voting place, please contact Tim Kydd at the contact information below. The Chief Electoral Officer will consider all requests on an individual basis.
Elections Saskatchewan is the province’s independent, impartial, professional election management body. Given a mandate from the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, it organizes, manages and oversees provincial electoral events, including the April 4, 2016 general election. Information for voters, workers, media, candidates and parties at www.elections.sk.ca.
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For more information and for interviews with Elections Saskatchewan, contact:
Tim Kydd
Senior Director, Outreach & Policy
Elections Saskatchewan
306.537.9211
[email protected]