(CJME News staff)

By CJME News

Final counts finished, 445,011 ballots cast in for Sask. provincial election

Nov 9, 2020 | 12:06 PM

The final count of ballots is now done, completing Saskatchewan’s 29th general election.

The Saskatchewan Party won 48 seats after the final count, with the NDP claiming 13.

A total of 445,011 ballots were cast in the election that saw Scott Moe win in his first election as leader since succeeding Brad Wall in 2018.

It was the fourth straight election win for the Sask. Party, which earned 60.7 per cent of the vote. The NDP accumulated 31.6 per cent.

It was the most votes cast in a provincial election since 2007 and the second-most since 1991, with 52.9 per cent of the 841,807 estimated eligible voters in the province casting ballots.

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The April 2016 election saw 53.5 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots.

“Administering an election during a pandemic was a significant challenge,” Dr. Michael Boda, Saskatchewan’s chief electoral officer, said in a news release. “I’d like to thank our dedicated Field Leadership Team members in all 61 constituencies and the thousands of people throughout the province who gave their time to work at advance and election day polls.”

In total, 61,255 vote-by-mail ballots were issued to voters and 56,547 were returned and counted.

Advance voting saw historic turnout, with 185,061 people taking advantage of those polls. In 2016, 110,716 people voted at advance polls.

Candidates and business managers have until Nov. 18 to request recounts.