From: Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan
Date: November 21, 2014
To: Chief Official Agents
Registered Political Parties of Saskatchewan
Re: Lloydminster By-Election Update
Good Friday! Subsequent to By-Election Day and before the Final Count scheduled for next week, I wanted to communicate with our registered political parties on a few items. I hope you will take a few minutes to review this information and forward it along to your candidates and business managers.
• CEO’s Section 7 Powers: I wanted to let you know that, during the recent by-election, it was necessary for Elections Saskatchewan to recruit some election officials from outside the constituency. While pending legislation will no longer require this, The Election Act, 1996 states that certain election officials are to be resident in the constituency where the election is being held. Section 7 of the Act gives the Chief Electoral Officer certain powers to adapt provisions of the legislation as necessary to successfully administer an election. As CEO, I used these powers to provide our Returning Officer with the ability to acquire needed assistance. All election workers reported to the Returning Officer, completed the same training, and fulfilled their duties to the requirements established in the Act. A number of factors contributed to our shortfall in staff, including: the nature of a by-election being called with little notice; an in-writ enumeration which makes recruitment difficult; and a strong economy in the area resulting in a limited availability within the workforce.
In total, six enumerators, one supervisory deputy returning officer, two poll clerks, and three deputy returning officers needed to be brought in from outside the constituency of Lloydminster.
Within 60 days, as is required by The Election Act, 1996, a formal report on the use of the CEO’s Section 7 powers will be provided to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Continued…
• Elections Saskatchewan Head Office Relocation: You may know that Elections Saskatchewan was scheduled to move to a new Head Office location on Friday, November 14. With a by-election call, we delayed this move to earlier today, Friday, November 21. As of this morning, we have officially transitioned from Park Street to Hillsdale Street in Regina. Our availability to you at Head Office will not be affected by this move.
The same telephone and fax numbers and email addresses will remain active throughout the transition. Our new mailing address is:
Elections Saskatchewan
3303 Hillsdale Street
Regina, SK S4S 6W9
• Final count: Final Count will be held at the Lloydminster Returning Office on Tuesday, November 25, beginning at 10 a.m. Central Time (9 a.m. Mountain Time). As always, your candidates and up to two representatives are welcome to attend. Please contact Josephine Taylor at 306.825.6462 for more information.
• Return of the Writ: Consistent with legislation and as you’ll see in the by-election calendar, the Return of the Writ will take place on Saturday, December 6. During this process, the Writ will be returned from Lloydminster to the Chief Electoral Officer, along with other materials identified in Section 171 of The Election Act, 1996.
• Expense return filing dates: Just a friendly reminder of two upcoming by-election-related deadlines:
o February 17, 2015 is the last day for candidates to file their return of election expenses, and
o May 14, 2015 is the last day for registered political parties to file their return of election expenses. In both cases, Elections Saskatchewan will complete our review within 90 days of the date the expense return is submitted.
• Business manager training: We have already been in touch with your candidates’ business managers to make arrangements for training sessions, but would also extend this invitation to any Chief Official Agents who are new to their position or would like a refresher course. Dates and times will be confirmed soon. If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Colin, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for Corporate Services and Electoral Finance, at 306.787.4061 or [email protected].
I want to thank all of you for your continued participation in the Lloydminster By-Election!
You will be aware that on Monday, November 17, Bill No. 160, The Lloydminster Constituency By-Election Act was approved by the Legislative Assembly and assented to by the Lieutenant Governor. This Bill deems Colleen Young duly elected for the constituency of Lloydminster, but it also retains the primacy of all by-election-related processes still to come under applicable legislation. I have attached a copy of Bill No. 160 for your review.
Best wishes,
Michael