Updated “Bingo Sheet”
You are likely familiar with the “bingo sheet” (T-333 Statement of Voters Who Voted)– the form that we have used on election day in past elections to track which voters have voted. Typically, your candidate representatives have been able to retrieve a copy from voting locations and use it to determine who has voted and who hasn’t, aiding your “get out the vote” campaigns.
For these pending by-elections, the introduction of technology in the form of electronic poll books means that most voting locations will no longer complete the bingo sheet – the data will be collected and shared electronically. In Lumsden-Morse, however, the manual locations which are open on the last day of voting only, will not be able to use the traditional bingo sheet for two reasons. The first is that the form has traditionally accommodated 500 voters and these manual locations have more than 500 voters assigned to each – making it impossible to track all voters. The second is that we have traditionally used an “NCR” form which allowed for the creation of 6 copies from marking one form. Now that Saskatchewan has seven registered political parties, combined with the possibility of independent candidates, a standard NCR form will no longer work.
For these reasons we have redesigned the bingo sheet – a sample copy is attached. Your candidate representatives will be able to view the form and take pictures of it but will not be able to leave with a copy. Please ensure they are aware of this change in process.
If you have any questions about this new bingo sheet, please reach out to Jennifer Colin at [email protected].
Strike Off Data
As mentioned above, all of the voting locations in Regina Coronation Park, Regina Walsh Acres and the technology-enabled locations in Lumsden-Morse will be able to transmit strike off data to parties and candidates in real-time.
If you would like to test the strike off data in your systems, please reach out to Jennifer Colin at the email address above.
Updated Directives – Financial
Recently, I have provided you with copies of a number of Directives related to modifications or adaptations of legislation. There is another type of directive that my office has occasionally released – these being ones related to the specific manner in which certain items within legislation should be implemented or offer instructions on how a task should be completed. Often, but not always, these relate to the financial and regulatory portions of The Election Act, 1996. When we met back in June, I we indicated that a number of new Directives of this type were being prepared.
I have attached three of these Directives to this Communique. They are:
- CEO Directive 2023-015 Establishing a Materiality Threshold for Review of Election Expense Returns: This directive outlines the approach my office will take with respect to defining materiality in relation to the review of election expense returns in an effort to balance transparency and accountability with administrative effort.
- CEO Directive 2023-016 Authorization Statement for Candidate Advertisements: This directive outlines how the transition from the term “business manager” to the term “financial agent” will be managed with regard to the authorization statement on candidate advertisements.
- CEO Directive 2023-017 Adjustments to Unaudited Candidate Election Expense Returns: This directive outlines the process my office will follow when our review of an election expense return means it no longer qualifies as a return that does not need to be audited in accordance with recent changes to legislation.
Moving forward, I am going to have my office review the naming and numbering of this type of Directive to ensure there is no confusion between these and the ones allowing for modifications/adaptations to legislation. Once this happens, I will provide you with updated documents as well as a direct link to where this information will be found online moving forward.
If you have questions about any of the three Directives shared today, please contact Aaron Thompson at [email protected].
Saskatoon Meewasin – As Reviewed
Finally, all candidate and party returns from the Saskatoon Meewasin by-election have now been posted to our website with an “As Reviewed” status. These can be found at https://www.elections.sk.ca/reports-data/candidate-political-party-finances/candidate-returns/.
Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan