March 27, 2016: Writ Period Bulletin for Field Leadership Team

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

• Printing Official Voters Lists for Advance Polls;
• Keeping the Master Copy of the Official Voters List Current and Updating Advance Poll Lists;
• Updating the Master copy of the Official Voters List for Election Day;
• Paper for Printing/Copying;
• Candidates Not Resident in the Constituency;
• Homebound Voting;
• Poll Location Changes on Elections SK’s Website; and
• Informing Candidates of Poll Location Changes.

Printing Official Voters Lists for Advance Polls

Elections SK has loaded a Revised voters list onto the RO’s laptop.  From hereon, we will be referring to this list as the Official Voters List since it is the list we will be using at the Advance Polls and on Election Day.  You will need to have 2 copies of the Official Voters List for each of your Advance Polls and one copy to separate into polling divisions and distribute to DROs for Election Day.

• Print one copy of the entire Official list – this will be your Master copy.
• Draw a line, using a pen and ruler, through the names of voters who have been mailed Absentee ballot kits so far or who have voted by Absentee ballot in the returning office. Remember there may be more ballot kits sent out after the list is printed. Note: when an Absentee ballot kit has been sent to a voter, they are deemed to have voted.
• Write “AB” beside the names of these Absentee voters.
• Add the names of any candidates (and family members, if applicable) from outside your constituency that are voting in a polling division within your constituency. Write “CAN” beside the name(s) – See article below.
• Strike through the names of any candidates (and family members, if applicable) resident within your constituency who are voting in another constituency. Write “CAN” beside the name(s) – See article below.
• Photocopy two copies of the Master list for each of your Advance Polls.
• Provide 1 copy of the list to each Advance Poll DRO.
• Provide the second copy of the list to the Registration Officer to look up voters to see if they need to register or not. If you happen to need to add an additional team to handle large volumes at an Advance Poll, the Registration Officer’s copy of the list could be used until the RO can supply an additional copy.

Important:  All individuals who have been issued a ballot must be struck off the voters list to prevent the possibility of an individual voting more than once.

Note:  As you know Homebound voting occurs at the same time as Advance voting. You will not be able to strike off the names of Homebound voters until your Homebound team has visited them and returned with their ballots.  As Homebound voters cast their ballots throughout the period of Advance voting, you should be keeping your Master copy of the list up-to-date.  On a daily basis, you will also need to supply the DROs for your Advance Polls with the names of Homebound voters who have voted so they can strike these names off the lists they are using at the polls.

Keeping the Master copy of the Official Voters List Current and Updating Advance Poll Lists

Following each day of Advance voting you must make arrangements for your Advance Poll DROs to report the names of voters who have voted at the Advance Polls.  Considering that the first 4 days of Advance voting the polls close at 10 p.m., this may take place the following morning.

In urban centres (Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, The Battlefords, Swift Current, and Yorkton) you should arrange for the DROs to personally deliver the yellow copies of the E-317 pages to the returning office at 10 a.m.  On the last day of Advance voting (Saturday April 2), this should be done immediately after the poll closes at 7 p.m.

In rural areas, where distance is a factor, you should arrange for the DROs:

• to scan and email or fax copies of the E-317 Poll Book pages; or
• call into the returning office by 10 a.m. with the names of Advance Poll voters.

It is important to keep the Master copy of the Official Voters List up-to-date. On the last day of Advance voting (Saturday April 2), this should be done immediately after the poll closes at 7 p.m.

When you strike through the names of Advance voters on your Master list, write “ADV” beside the name. And for Homebound voters who have cast a ballot, you should strike through the names and write “HB” beside the name.

Remember that each Advance Poll voters list has to be updated daily to strike off the names of voters who voted the day before.

Note: Copies of the E-317 pages are not to be sent to the candidates until after Advance Polls close on April 2 (not daily).  Copies of the E-317 pages should be put in a file for each candidate and distributed Saturday evening April 2 or Sunday morning April 3.

Updating the Master Copy of the Official Voters List for Election Day

Following the close of the Advance Polls, which is also the last day for Homebound voting, you will need to make sure that all voters who have voted at any one of your Advance, Absentee or Homebound Polls have been stricken off the Master copy of the voters list.

The Master copy of the Official Voters List can then be copied, separated into polling divisions and distributed to the DROs for polling day.

Paper for Printing/Copying

You will need to have on hand at least 4 boxes of paper and an extra toner to print and copy voters lists.  If you need more paper and toner:

• Use your P-Card to purchase these from an office supply store, or
• If you do not have ready access to an office supply store, call the Support Desk at 1-866-249-7186 and select option 3 to order what you need from the warehouse.

Candidates Not Resident in the Constituency

As you are aware, candidates who are seeking election in a constituency other than where they live can opt to vote in a polling division within the constituency where they are running.  They can also have their spouse and eligible dependents added to the voters list in the constituency in which they are running.  Candidates (and family members) who chose this option must be removed from the voters list in the constituency in which they are ordinarily resident and added to the voters list where they will be voting. 

The constituencies have already been notified that certain candidates have filed E-314 CSD Voting By Candidate Not Resident in the Constituency forms, which informs us that they will be exercising this option.  

Note: This updating of the Official Voters List must be done on both the lists that will be used at the Advance polls and the list that will be used on Election Day.

Homebound Voting

Remember, Homebound voters have until your office closes on Monday March 28 to personally deliver or email a Homebound Voter Application. You can accept a homebound application delivered by mail until end of the day on Tuesday, March 29 providing it is postmarked on or before March 28.

In reviewing Homebound Voter Applications it is important to ensure that:

• the application form is complete;
• the applicant is an eligible voter within your constituency; and
• the Declaration in Part 2 of the application is signed by the voter.

You will need to designate a DRO/PC team (male/female) to conduct Homebound voting.  It is particularly important to remember that applicants do not need to provide you with proof of their disability. We have provided the following scripts to aid the DRO/PC in completing this work.

When calling Homebound applicant:

Hello, my name is (your name) and I am calling from Elections Saskatchewan.  May I speak with (applicant)?

The purpose of my call is to confirm that your Homebound voting application has been received at our returning office and to arrange an appointment.

The declaration included in your application indicates that you are unable to vote at an advance poll or on election day due to a disability, can you confirm this is accurate?

Alternative script when calling caregiver:

The declaration included with your application indicates that you are unable to vote at an advance poll or on election day as you are providing care to a person with a disability.  Can you confirm this is accurate?

If the applicant acknowledges that they:

• understood the declaration they signed, then the caller will arrange an appointment and remind the voter to have ID ready;
• misunderstood the requirements, then the caller will explain that they are not eligible for Homebound voting and will advise them that they will need to vote at an Advance poll or at the regular polling location assigned to them for Election Day on April 4.

Homebound voters do not need to include a copy of their identification with their application.  The DRO and Poll Clerk that you send will be able to see the identification when they visit the voter’s home to take their vote. Please ensure that all team members view the privacy training video, sign the Training Acknowledgement form and receive the Accessibility training.

The DRO will schedule an appointment with the voter at an agreed upon time during the five days of Advance poll voting – March 29 to April 2. The DRO/PC team should start setting up appointments with Homebound voters on Monday March 28.  Don’t forget that you must also inform each candidate, or his or her business manager, of the dates and times that your election officials intend to conduct Homebound voting.  This can be done by providing a photocopy of Form E-164 to each candidate.  Only one candidate’s representative for each candidate may attend.

Don’t forget that you must also inform each candidate, or his or her business manager, of the dates and times that your election officials intend to conduct Homebound voting. Only one representative for each candidate may attend.

After the Homebound voter’s ballot has been returned to the returning office, it is important to remember to cross off their names from the Master copy of the Official Voters List.

Homebound voter ballots are not counted until election night. 

Please remember to make copies of Form E-168HB for as many candidates as you have in your constituency.  As well, you must create E-167HB Envelopes for all candidates.

 

Poll Location Changes on Elections SK’s Website

Elections SK has collected all of the poll location changes and has listed them on a single, convenient page on our website. The link to this page is:

www.elections.sk.ca/locationchanges

Please ensure that all of the poll location changes in your constituency have been included in this list.  If you are aware of any poll location changes that are NOT on this list, please call the Support Desk (1-866-249-7186, option 3) and notify us right away so we can make the necessary update.

Informing Candidates of Poll Location Changes

All candidates must be informed of any and all changes to poll locations.  Please contact each of the candidates running in your constituency and inform them of all poll location changes as soon as possible.