October 27, 2014 – Saskatchewan’s Chief Electoral Officer has provided clarification (in an information circular) regarding the time standard that will be applied throughout the constituency of Lloydminster by-election on November 13, 2014.
“We recognized some ambiguity within the provincial law regarding local or Central Standard Time in communities such as the City of Lloydminster, which has legally adopted Mountain Time—both Standard and Daylight Saving—as their local time standard,” says Dr. Michael Boda, Saskatchewan’s Chief Electoral Officer and head of Elections Saskatchewan, the provincial election management body.
“Adding to any potential confusion is the fact that many jurisdictions in the world will change their clocks on November 2. We felt it was prudent to obtain a legal opinion on this matter as it relates specifically to the by-election and The Election Act, 1996, and then communicate it to all stakeholders including voters, candidates and registered political parties.”
Summary of Times
Event Date Central Time Mountain Time
Candidate Nomination Deadline Oct 28 2 p.m. 2 p.m.
Beginning Nov 2, 2014, Mountain Time will be one hour earlier than Central Time
Advance Voting Nov 6 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Advance Voting Nov 7 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Advance Voting Nov 8 12 noon to 7 p.m. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Advance Voting Nov 9 12 noon to 7 p.m. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Advance Voting Nov 10 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Polling Day Nov 13 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Reporting of Results Nov 13 After 8 p.m. After 7 p.m.
“Hopefully the clarification we’re offering will help all voters know their own voting hours depending on where they live,” says Dr. Boda. “We have additional advertising and household information planned to promote the time zone clarification.”
Further details about the by-election, including acceptable ID and a list of candidates, can be found at www.elections.sk.ca/lloydminsterbyelection.
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.
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For more information contact:
Tim Kydd
Senior Director, Outreach & Policy
Elections Saskatchewan
306.537.9211
Tim.kydd@elections.sk.ca