‘Extraordinary voting’ in place for northern Indigenous community following COVID-19 outbreak

As we inch closer to election day in Saskatchewan, the way people physically cast their ballots has changed drastically compared to past electoral years.

A major emphasis has been put on mail-in ballots, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps Saskatchewan at a distance. But what happens when COVID-19 creates a lockdown within an electoral riding?

Dr. Michael Boda, Saskatchewan’s chief electoral officer, said the creation of “extraordinary voting” has filled that gap to allow all to cast their ballots.

Due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Chief Peter Beatty and the council decided that election-day polls cannot be held safely in the communities. Instead, under the extraordinary voting measures, an alternative form will ensure safety across Saskatchewan’s largest Indigenous community.

Voters can register directly with Elections Saskatchewan up until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to have a ballot delivered to their doorstep.

“We’re sending messengers in from our returning office that will go and we’ll have officials in those communities that will drop off the ballots for people who have applied, and then they will return closer to Oct. 26 in order to pick up those ballots,” Boda said Monday.

“Saskatchewan is a massive place … We have our deadline of the 20th. We need to be able to get those ballots in, and then be able to pick them up and get them out again.”

Boda said the extraordinary process is a first for the province but will allow safety for all in the Indigenous community, which contains seven standalone communities.

He said the chief and council are getting the word out using means such as Facebook posts, radio station call-outs, a geolocated SaskAlert notification and members and non-members being delivered memos with all the details.

Advance polls set to open Tuesday

For those who don’t want to deal with large crowds on the actual election day, advance polling stations across Saskatchewan open Tuesday. The stations run until Saturday, open from noon to 8 p.m. daily.

Boda said COVID-19 protocols are in place, including all workers in mandatory masking, dividers between voters and workers, physical distancing and hand sanitizer when voters come in and when they leave. Masks aren’t mandatory but are strongly encouraged, including offices offering masks at the door of the polling stations.

“We expect that we’ll be able to run these polls without a problem,” he said.

Boda asked voters to space out their times and try to come through in the non-peak periods.

“We don’t want long lineups,” he said. “It’s a different kind of an election. It’s going to look different, but we thank people for their patience as we move forward.”

Election day in Saskatchewan is on Oct. 26.