Use of Registered Mail for Absentee Ballots
The Absentee Voters portion of The Election Act, 1996 (Sections 86 to 89) contains several references to the use of “registered mail.” In researching the various options Canada Post has available for delivery, we have found that registered mail is no longer a suitable option for the delivery of absentee ballots. Canada Post no longer offers registered mail service to the United States. Alternative methods of delivery are not mentioned in our legislation and, in some instances, cost of up to ten times as much as regular mail delivery. Given these circumstances, I have determined that all absentee ballots will be delivered, regardless of destination, by regular mail service.
If you know anyone who may need to vote by absentee ballot, I would encourage you to ask them to submit their application as soon as possible after receiving it and to complete and mail the ballot shortly after receiving it.
Election Night Results Page
While it may seem a long ways away, all of your hard work will reach a high point on election night when the results begin coming in. We are currently in the final stages of designing our results web page. I am attaching a mock-up of what our results page may look like (although some details are still being finalized). Please note that registered political parties participating in the election will appear on the screen in alphabetical order by your party’s full name (not the abbreviation). The page will allow users to follow key constituencies that they are most interested in and will also scale and be fully responsive on mobile devices. It will auto-refresh every 60 seconds, no matter the device.
One small issue that I am hopeful all of you can respond on is the use of logos on our results web page. On the attached mock up, at the top of the page, you will notice that your logo is used to represent your party. I am asking that you verify that we have the correct logo for your party. For your convenience, I have also attached the specific image of your logo that we have used for this page. Please email Tim Kydd, Senior Director, Outreach and Policy, at [email protected] and let him know if the logo we have used is correct. Recognizing that all of you are busy, if we have not heard from you by Friday, March 11, we will move forward with the logo found on the attached file.
Electoral Finance – Expense Limit Exceptions
In my January 22 Communique, I provided all of you with a link to the annual political party and candidate expense limits. As of today, there are five constituencies in the province (found in the table below) which are exceptions to the expense limits found in that document – this happens when the amount obtained by multiplying the number of voters on the voters list is greater than the adjusted amount found in legislation. The second last column of the table (Expense Limit) gives the currently projected expense limit, and the last column shows how much it is over the standard limit. I am providing you with this information now, but please be aware that the voters list will not be final until March 24. As a result, any exceptions to the provincial limits cannot be finalized until after March 24. These numbers can and will change. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure they do not exceed the expense limit. If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Colin via [email protected] or at 306.787.4061.
| Constituency | Number of Electors | Prov Limit | Amount per Voter | Expense Limit | Over Prov Limit | |
| Cumberland | 12,668 | $77,388 | 7.71 | 97,670 | 97,670 | $20,282 |
| Martensville-Warman | 15,014 | $58,043 | 3.88 | 58,254 | 58,254 | $211 |
| Regina Rochdale | 15,736 | $58,043 | 3.88 | 61,056 | 61,056 | $3,013 |
| Saskatoon Stonebridge-Dakota | 14,983 | $58,043 | 3.88 | 58,134 | 58,134 | $91 |
| Saskatoon Willowgrove | 15,257 | $58,043 | 3.88 | 59,197 | 59,197 | $1,154 |
It is possible that the next time you here from me will be to inform you that the writs of election have been issued and Saskatchewan’s 28th General Election is underway. My team, both here at head office and in the province‘s 61 constituencies, look forward to serving all of our stakeholders throughout the coming electoral event.