June 26, 2023 – Today Elections Saskatchewan tabled Service. Integrity. Innovation: Elections Saskatchewan’s 2022–2023 Annual Report.
The 2022–2023 fiscal year marked a turning point as Elections Saskatchewan completed its reporting on the Twenty-Ninth General Election and began preparing for the upcoming Thirtieth General Election.
As the province looks ahead to the next general election, modernization remains a central focus for Elections Saskatchewan. A successful deployment of modernization initiatives in the 2022–2023 fiscal year and upcoming opportunities in the summer of 2023 are demonstrating the value of new tools and systems.
“The Saskatoon Meewasin by-election in September provided a valuable opportunity to test important systems, including electronic poll books and two modules of the new Saskatchewan Election Management System (SEMS),” observes Dr. Michael Boda, Chief Electoral Officer for the Province of Saskatchewan. “Several other modules of SEMS are nearing completion, and the project is on track to have an election-ready system fully in place by the end of 2023. Upcoming by-elections in the 2023–2024 fiscal year will provide additional opportunities to test SEMS modules as well as electronic poll books and vote- counting equipment. These by-elections will be the first time that this equipment has been used in a provincial election event.”
Electronic poll books and vote counting equipment cannot be used during the next general election without the approval of the Legislative Assembly’s Board of Internal Economy (BOIE). As a result, the format of Saskatchewan’s Thirtieth General Election remains uncertain. The Chief Electoral Officer continues to work with the BOIE to receive the direction required to ensure the administration of the next general election is a success.
“As Chief Electoral Officer for the Province of Saskatchewan,” says Dr. Boda, “I have presented a consistent, achievable vision of the pathway to a modernized election and all the benefits it brings. Over the past year, our team has embodied that vision through dedicated and skillful service, laying the groundwork for important improvements. The final decision as to whether Saskatchewan will embrace those improvements is now left to our elected MLAs.”
Elections Saskatchewan’s 2022–2023 Annual Report, along with past annual reports, can be found here: https://www.elections.sk.ca/reports-data/reports-publications/. The Chief Electoral Officer is available for interviews on plans for modernization as well as the three pending by-elections.
Elections Saskatchewan (ESK) is the province’s nonpartisan election management body and an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. ESK directs and supervises the administration of provincial electoral events including Saskatchewan’s next general election, scheduled, by legislation, for October 28, 2024. Information for voters, workers, media, candidates, and parties at www.elections.sk.ca.
For more information contact:
Tim Kydd
Senior Director, Outreach & Communications
Elections Saskatchewan
306.537.9211
tim.kydd@elections.sk.ca