30th Electoral Cycle Communique for Chief Official Agents, Issue Thirty-Four

Nominations Closed & Next Steps

Close of Nominations

The nomination period for Saskatchewan’s 30th General Election came to an end at 2 p.m. this afternoon.

  • 243 candidates have had their nomination papers accepted by our Returning Officers;
  • This is a small increase from the 236 candidates nominated in 2020 but a decrease from the record number of 268 nominated in the province’s 2016 general election.

Please pass along my genuine thanks and appreciation to each of your candidates. Only 61 of them are able to take a seat in the province’s Legislative Assembly but each of them has contributed to the health of our democratic traditions by placing their name on the ballot.

A complete list of candidates will be available before the end of the day on our website at this link: www.elections.sk.ca/candidates.   

Next Steps – Ballot Printing

With the close of the nomination period, our focus turns now to ballot printing.

In 2020, we centralized much of the ballot printing with a few large printers, resulting in more consistent processes and results. This election, we are following the same plan, using a small number of printers, each printing ballots for multiple constituencies. Over the next several days, our team will be inspecting and reviewing ballot proofs before signing off on them.   

Next Steps – Legislated Advertising

Section 51 of The Election Act, 1996 requires Elections Saskatchewan to publish certain information related to the election in local newspapers throughout the province. This information includes:

  • The names, political affiliations (if any) and addresses of the candidates nominated;
  • The name of the financial agent of each candidate; and
  • The dates and times of Voting Week.

Advertisements will run in Saskatoon and Regina dailies on October 19. In areas covered by weekly newspapers, these ads will run throughout the week of October 14 and October 21 depending on the newspaper’s publication day.

RPP Technical Briefing – Reminder

As I mentioned earlier this week, we’ll be hosting a technical briefing for the Chief Official Agent (or designate) of province’s registered political parties on Thursday, October 17 at 1 p.m. over Microsoft Teams.

Please RSVP to Bobbee Tarksis at [email protected] before Tuesday, October 15 at 12 noon with the email address that we should use for the meeting invite. 

Upcoming Deadline and Key Dates

Just a few quick reminders of upcoming deadlines and key dates:

  • 14 – Thanksgiving, Returning Offices closed. Contact our head office team if you need assistance.
  • 19 – Last day for general public to register online or by phone. Any voter can still register at the time of voting.
  • 19 – Last day for Elections Saskatchewan to receive Vote by Mail and Homebound voting applications.
  • 22 to 28 – Voting Week. Vote from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Oct. 22 to 26. No voting on Oct. 27. Voting from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 28, the last day of voting.
  • 30 – Second Preliminary Count begins in Regina and continues until complete.
  • 7 – 12 noon deadline to receive vote by mail ballot kits that were mailed before 8 p.m. on Oct. 28.
  • 9 – Final Count.
  • 20 – Return to the Writs.

Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan