This issue of the Writ Period Bulletin for Field Leadership Team includes an article on:

  • Revised Voters List to Returning Officers & Candidates – Saturday, March 26;
  • Determining the Number of Ballots to Distribute to DROs;
  • Processing Absentee Voter Applications Between March 24 and March 29; and
  • Encouraging Office and Election Workers to Vote at Advance Polls.

Revised Voters List to Returning Officers & Candidates – Saturday, March 26

Following the close of revisions, a Revised voters list will be provided to each Returning Office.  Elections SK IT will load the file electronically onto each Returning Officer’s (RO’s) laptop.  ROs will not need to be present at the laptop for the file transfer, but Elections SK IT would ask that you make sure your laptops are all turned on, plugged in and connected to the Internet on the afternoon of Friday March 25 and on the morning of Saturday March 26.  

The Revised Voters list will appear on every RO’s laptop in a folder called “REVISED VOTERS LIST”.  Within this folder, you will have one main file that will contain every voter for all polling locations, separated by polling location.  As well, there will be individual files for each polling location.  These files will be read-and-print ready, so no further action to decrypt the files will be required.  These files will be on your computers by 1 p.m. on Saturday.

If you do not receive the Revised voters list or have any questions or concern, please contact Son Lu at [email protected]

Candidates who previously received a Preliminary list of voters electronically, will automatically get a new email after 1 p.m. on Saturday March 26 sent from [email protected] with the Revised list of voters attached.  The password for the encrypted file will be the same one that was previously provided to each candidate or business manager to decrypt the Preliminary list.

If a candidate previously received a paper copy of the Preliminary list, but would like to receive the Revised list electronically, they should email [email protected] with their request including constituency and contact information.  Once we have verified with the RO that an E-293 Declaration to Protect the List of Electors has been completed, the candidate will receive the list.

If a candidate requests a paper copy of the list, you can make the necessary arrangements for them to pick one up from your returning office.  Ensure you leave enough time to print the list for the candidate.  You can supply 1 copy of the list to a candidates. If they require more, they are responsible for making the copies.

Determining the Number of Ballots to Distribute to DROs

The following information supercedes the information you received in training and the information that is contained in the RO Training Manual regarding how to calculate the number of ballots to distribute to your DROs.  The change in the amount of ballots you were instructed to print and the increase in the number of ballots you are to distribute to DROs were measures designed to ensure there will be sufficient ballots for advance and mobile polls, as well as on election day. 

Voter information and poll counts in ESPREE will be updated before the office opens to the public on Saturday March 26.

Determining the number of ballots you will need for each poll is based on the number of voters you have on the voters list for that poll.

The number of ballots to distribute to DROs will be found in ESPREE Saturday March 26.

  • Go to the “Polls and Polling Places’’ tab at the top of the screen;
  • Click on item number 3, “Poll Ballot Count Update”;
  • There you will see a listing of your polls, the Elector Count and the Ballot Count for each poll; and
  • The ballot counts for mobile and advance polls will be entered by Elections SK.

The number of voters in each poll has been multiplied in ESPREE by 1.25 and rounded up to the nearest 25 (number of ballots in a booklet) to provide an additional margin of at least 25%. This is a precaution we take to ensure that no polling stations will run out of ballots on election day.

Note: Some of your polling divisions may be quite stable and the number of voters we currently have on the voters list for the poll is unlikely to change much. However, based on your local knowledge, there may also be some polls where there has been considerable growth or where the number of voters is lower than you would expect.  In these cases, you may need to supply the poll with extra ballots and registration forms. You should always examine the ballot distribution numbers carefully to ensure that the amounts appear reasonable to you.

If you have any questions about the ballot distribution numbers, call the Support Desk at 1-866-249-7186 and select option 3 for Operations.

Note: After distributing ballots to your DROs, the remaining ballots should be held back and kept in your office in case:

  • any of your polling stations run out of ballots on election day; or
  • a DRO does not show up and you have to deploy a spare worker with ballots. In remote areas you may need to provide a spare worker with extra ballots in advance of election day so the poll can open more quickly.

You should have a person who can act as a messenger in your office in case additional ballots or forms need to be distributed to a polling place.

Processing Absentee Voter Applications between March 24 and March 29

Absentee voter applications received on or after Thursday March 24 are to be processed in the same way you have been processing these applications all along: 

  • Review application for completeness;
  • Ensure voter resides in your constituency; and
  • Decide to accept or reject the application.

However, if the voter’s name does not appear in voter view please do the following:

  • Complete the E-207RP Registration at the Poll form;
  • If voter is applying in person, have them sign the form;
  • If application is received by mail, write “Absentee Voter” on Signature of Voter line;
  • RO or EC to sign on Signature of Election Official line;
  • File the E-207RP with the application to be returned to ESK after the election;
  • Complete E-316 Statement by Deputy Returning Officer Respecting Voters who Made Declarations or were Registered on Election Day form with the names of any voters who have an E-207RP completed; and
  • Mail or provide ballot kit to voter.

After the deadline for Absentee Applications (March 28 for applications received in person and by email or on March 29 for applications received by mail), place the original E-316 in the Absentee Application file to be returned to ESK after the election and provide a copy to each candidate. 

Encouraging Office and Election Workers to Vote at Advance Polls

On election day your poll workers will be very busy and must remain at their assigned polling station for the entire day.  For this reason, we ask that you encourage all of your office staff and election day workers to vote at an advance poll.

Remind your election workers about voting at an advance poll when you are contacting them to confirm their employment on election day.  You should again remind them to take the opportunity to vote at the advance poll when they are being trained for their assigned duties. 

For advance poll workers, you should be encouraging them to vote on election day at their assigned polling place.  Advance poll workers will not be working at regular polls on election day until it is time to count the ballots after the regular polls close, so they should have time throughout the day to vote.