Saskatoon Fairview By-Election Communique for Chief Official Agents Issue Ten

Yesterday was a busy day for all of us. In general, I was very pleased with the administration of the by-election and hope that all of you were as well. If you have any urgent comments or feedback, however, please don’t hesitate to be in contact with my office.

I would like to formally thank you, your teams, and your candidates for their commitment to the democratic process. I would also emphasize that while the public facing portion of the event may be over, there is still work to be done, including the final count and the return to the writ.

Preliminary Results

As you know, Vicki Mowat of the N.D.P. is the successful candidate after the preliminary count. The vote counts are as follows:

  • Vicki Mowat, N.D.P. – 2,759
  • Cameron Scott, Saskatchewan Party – 1,423
  • Shah Rukh, Liberal Party – 199
  • David Prokopchuk, P.C. Party – 123
  • Taylor Bolin, Saskatchewan Green Party – 61

The final count will take place on Tuesday, September 19 in the returning office. Absentee votes will be counted at that time and official results will be released upon completion.

Turnout was 35.7 percent of registered voters, lower than the April 2016 general election where turnout was 50.1 percent of registered voters. This isn’t unexpected – as I have said in the past, by-elections typically have lower turnout than the preceding general election. Still, turnout of less than 40 percent is concerning in any electoral event, and I will continue to push for discussion on this issue in the media, with representatives of our registered political parties, and with our provincial legislators.

Advance voting continues to be an increasingly popular option for voters. More than 41 percent of all votes cast in this by-election took place during advance voting – a significant jump from the 32.4 percent of votes cast in advance in Saskatoon Fairview during the April 2016 general election. Elections Saskatchewan will continue to monitor this shift to advance voting and examine what it means for us as election administrators.

Key Dates

Here are a few reminders of key dates in the upcoming weeks:

  • Tuesday, September 19 – the Final Count will be held at the Returning Office. I will provide more details next week.
  • Saturday, September 30 – Wendy De Sa, the returning officer for Saskatoon Fairview, will return the writ of election to my office. Upon receipt, I will inform the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly that the by-election has been completed and inform him of the successful candidate. It is only after the Clerk has received this information that he can formally swear the new Member into the Legislative Assembly.
  • Thursday, December 7 – Deadline for candidates to file their audited return of election expenses.
  • Wednesday, March 7 – Deadline for registered political parties to file their audited return of election expenses.

Unless something pressing emerges before then, I will be in contact next week with more information on the final count.

All the best,

Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan

For additional information on the Saskatoon Fairview by-election, including a link to all CEO Communiques, visit www.elections.sk.ca/fairview.  

 

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