Facts about Saskatchewan’s Election Administration

Going back to The Election Act 1908, elections in Saskatchewan have always remained unofficial until the final count some days later.

In modern times, the period between the last day of voting and the final count is used to distribute the ballots counted in hospitals and remand facilities and to allow for vote by mail ballots to arrive.  Depending on the number of these ballots, it is always possible that the allocation of votes between candidates may shift significantly.

As such, elections are never final until after the final count, which is held 12 days after the last day of voting.

Potential candidates can engage in provincial election advertising prior to the writs being issued and the election campaign beginning. However, to do so, they must have appointed a financial agent by completing and submitting the E-401 form to our office  It can be found here:

Voting by mail is a safe and secure way to cast your ballot.

The processes for voting by mail are designed with safeguards to prevent voter fraud.  Unlike in systems elsewhere, every voter must apply, provide identification, and be approved to receive a mail-in ballot. Elections Saskatchewan tracks each ballot as it moves into the postal system and knows when it has been returned for counting through a method that ensures secrecy of those ballots.  When voters submit their applications, they are assigned and sent a code which allows them to return to a website that will confirm for them when their vote-by-mail kit was mailed and when it was returned and placed in a ballot box by election officials at Elections Saskatchewan.

While the Elections Saskatchewan website is the most direct means we have of conveying election results to the public, the website is not the results themselves.  All votes are cast on paper ballots, are counted by hand, and the results are recorded on paper forms and then collected in 61 returning offices.  In the unlikely event that there are difficulties with the website (or with something it relies on such as the internet or the electrical supply), the results are safe and will be reported as soon as possible.

A potential voter’s citizenship is determined at the time of registration.  To become a registered voter, an individual must declare that they are a citizen of Canada.  When voting, everyone must show identification to prove that they are that registered voter and when voting by mail, they must additionally complete another declaration about their citizenship on the “certificate envelope” in which they submit their ballot.  If an individual who is not eligible to vote knowingly does so, that would be a corrupt practice under The Election Act, 1996 and could face penalties including a monetary fine or prison time.

Electronic Pollbooks are computers that contain the voters list and traditional pollbook entries in digital form.  All electronic pollbooks are imaged by Elections Saskatchewan internally and are distributed first to Returning Officers, and then to poll locations through a secure chain of custody.  They are never connected to the internet and they update exclusively by secure LAN connection.