Chief electoral officer Dr. Michael Boda holding up the vote-by-mail ballot kit ahead of the 2020 Saskatchewan election. (Logan Stein/980 CJME)

By Logan Stein

Ballots are ready ahead of Saskatchewan election

Oct 14, 2020 | 11:09 AM

Ballots are hot off the press in preparation for the upcoming Saskatchewan election.

Nearly 1.3 million ballots have been made. That’s more than enough, according to Dr. Michael Boda, the province’s chief electoral officer.

“We don’t anticipate needing that many, but it’s important to ensure we had more than enough,” Boda said as he showcased one of the ballots Tuesday. “Nominations closed on Saturday, and right away the process in making the ballots was underway.”

There has been a significant increase in the number of people interested in voting by mail this year.

According to Boda, the 2016 provincial election saw roughly 4,000 people apply to vote by mail. This election, more than 40,000 people have applied to vote by mail and the deadline isn’t until Thursday at 11:59 p.m.

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“The ballot kits are completed almost on-demand before they are sent to the voter,” Boda said. “We anticipate a lot more people to apply to vote by mail ahead of the deadline.

“Once you have applied and been accepted, you will have until Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. to send in your ballot through the mail.”

It is no easy task for businesses that are in charge of developing ballots ahead of the provincial election.

Linda Hale, the president of Signature Graphics, says there is utmost importance in getting ballots done on time and done correctly.

“Machines go down. Timing isn’t exactly always (right) on our end, but it’s all about having some patience,” Hale said. “This weekend was Thanksgiving and we didn’t get to eat turkey with our families, but we got the opportunity to enjoy it with our work family.”

The nomination process doesn’t finish until 2 p.m., on Saturday, giving very little time to begin publishing the ballots.

Hale says shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday, Signature Graphics received the correct information for the ballots, including names and political parties.

“Presses started rolling early Sunday morning and they were running non-stop in order to get everything done in a timely manner,” she said. “We started doing deliveries today. We are done (and) it feels amazing.

“We have such a dedicated crew. Everyone knows how important this is.”

You can apply to vote by mail by checking out the Elections Saskatchewan website.