Preliminary voting results and voter turnout for Saskatoon Meewasin by-election

March 2, 2017 – A total of 4,923 ballots have been counted tonight, comprising the preliminary voting results for the by-election in the constituency of Saskatoon Meewasin. A final count, inclusive of both absentee and hospital ballots cast, will take place on Tuesday, March 14.

Preliminary results can be found at: http://results.elections.sk.ca/.

A total of 50 ballot boxes were opened and ballots counted tonight after 8 p.m. as part of the preliminary count. These included:

  • 44 for regular polls
  • 4 for advance polls
  • 1 for mobile polls
  • 1 for a homebound poll

Consistent with legislation, two additional ballot boxes will be opened and counted on Tuesday, March 14 as part of the final count:

  • 1 for an absentee poll. Requests were received from 101 people wanting to vote by mail for this by-election. While legislation allows for absentee ballots/envelopes to be received until March 12, absentee ballots/envelopes must be postmarked by 8 p.m. today, March 2.
  • 1 for a hospital poll. A hospital poll was held at Saskatoon City Hospital.

While there are two separate ballot boxes that are opened and counted at the final count, due to a small number of votes cast at the hospital poll, the absentee and hospital poll results will be combined and reported together. This helps to ensure the secrecy of every vote cast.

Saskatchewan’s Permanent Register of Voters included 12,121 voters in Saskatoon Meewasin as of February 21, the deadline for voters to register and be included on the voters list for the by-election. Qualified voters were also permitted to register at the time of voting, so this number will increase slightly due to registrations taken during either advance voting or regular voting today. Elections Saskatchewan has also obtained an estimate of the number of eligible voters in the constituency. That number is 12,700 as of March 1, 2017.

Following are the turnout rates based on the preliminary count:

  • Turnout of registered voters for the preliminary count stands at 40.6 per cent;
  • Turnout of eligible voters for the preliminary count stands at 38.8 per cent.

Note: These turnout figures will increase slightly following the final count on March 14.

Historically, turnout figures for by-elections have been lower than during a general election. By comparison, results following the final count from the 2016 Saskatchewan provincial general election within the constituency of Saskatoon Meewasin were:

  • Turnout of registered voters stood at 57.60 percent;
  • Turnout of eligible voters stood at 55.31 percent.

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. Find information for voters, workers, media, candidates and parties at www.elections.sk.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Tim Kydd
Senior Director, Communications & Outreach
Elections Saskatchewan
306.537.9211
Tim.kydd@elections.sk.ca