CEO Assessment on Referenda and Plebiscites
CEO Assessment Released
Just a short note to let you know that, this morning, I released Modernizing Saskatchewan’s Referendum Legislation, a CEO Assessment Series publication. This report offers a detailed look at the province’s current legislative scheme for conducing a referendum or plebiscite and points to several deficiencies which would make holding such an event impractical and very inefficient.
With these issues in mind, I offer four possible courses of action and ultimately, come up with a dual recommendation covering a referendum or plebiscite held both during a general election and as a stand-alone vote.
You will have heard me speak many times over the past several years about the need to modernize Saskatchewan’s election system and that does not only mean changing The Election Act, 1996. A modern democracy requires modern tools and part of that means having the mechanisms to put a ballot question to the public if required.
You can find this report on our website at https://www.elections.sk.ca/reports-data/ceo-assessment-series/. You will also be receiving a hard copy in the mail shortly. If you have comments or questions, I would be pleased to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan