Ballot boxes piled up, waiting for votes to be counted in the second preliminary count on Oct. 28, 2020. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By CKOM News Staff

Count progressing for mail-in ballots

Oct 28, 2020 | 6:02 PM

Results are slowly coming in from the second preliminary count for the Saskatchewan election and the mail-in ballots.

Counts were posted on Wednesday afternoon to the Elections Saskatchewan website for 14 constituencies where mail-in ballots had already been counted. Those ridings had fewer ballots to count.

As of 4 p.m., recounts had confirmed victories for the Saskatchewan Party candidates in Regina Coronation Park (Mark Docherty) and Prince Albert Northcote (Alana Ross).

The counts in Regina University, Regina Pasqua, Saskatoon Meewasin, Saskatoon University and Saskatoon Eastview hadn’t been completed.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili was trailing Sask. Party candidate Rylund Hunter by 83 votes in Saskatoon Meewasin after ballots were counted Monday night.

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According to Elections Saskatchewan, the ballots in Saskatoon Riversdale had been counted but hadn’t been confirmed.

The Sask. Party’s Marv Friesen held a 196-vote lead over the NDP’s Ashlee Hicks, with as many as 393 ballots still to come in and be counted on Nov. 7.

There are three days set down for the second count, but Dr. Michael Boda — the chief electoral officer for Elections Saskatchewan — said it may not take that long.

There are three days set down for the count, but Dr. Michael Boda — the chief electoral officer for Elections Saskatchewan — said it may not take that long.

“We are progressing, I think, as we’d planned and where issues arise, we address them immediately. But I don’t see how we wouldn’t finish in a relatively short time for the second preliminary count,” said Boda.

Boda said next, the workers are counting ballots from the closest constituencies and the results from those will be posted as all the ballots from that area are counted.

Boda said he doesn’t remember a Saskatchewan election where the mail-in ballots played such a big part.

“This is a very different race in the sense that the vote-by-mail ballots are a significant number,” he said.

Currently being counted are the mail-in ballot received by Elections Saskatchewan before 8 p.m. on Monday. There are more still coming in, with about 3,800 by noon on Wednesday. Those ballots will be counted after the deadline on Nov. 7.

Mail-in ballots normally wouldn’t be counted centrally, but because so many were sent out this year, Boda said Elections Saskatchewan officials wanted to make sure they had the capacity to deal with them.

There are four halls at the downtown Regina hotel where the ballots are being counted. Between them, there are 26 counting stations distanced from each other.

Each worker is wearing a mask and there are plastic barriers between those working together.