Elections Canada preparing for September snap election

It takes a lot of people to run an election smoothly and accurately.

So, what’s it like to get a country-wide workforce together with just a few weeks of notice before the big day?

Marie-France Kenny, the media relations advisor for Elections Canada, said there is a lot that goes into it. Even when Elections Canada is not expecting an election, they’re still working to make sure they’re prepared.

“Returning officers work throughout the year to identify key people that they can just call and say ‘Hi, come on in,'” Kenny explained.

On top of that, Elections Canada still has a stable base of workers across the country who have worked in previous elections.

“People who work election after election are often retirees, people who work part-time, people who are looking to make a little extra money,” she said.0″ Students over 16 are eligible to work. We typically have the same people over and over again, but we have the newer generation coming in as well.”

However, for those newer workers who are just starting off, it’s a bit of a scramble to get up to speed.

“Those people are going to be trained. So, over the next month, we’re going to be training … Then, we’re going to get going from there, and they’ll start working on advance poll days,” she said.

This election will be different than most. Here in Saskatchewan, there are no COVID restrictions, but that’s not the case in every province.

“We’re actually working with health authorities in each province or region to make sure that we follow or exceed what the health authorities require,” Kenny said.

That means that all election employees will be required to wear a mask or visors at the polls. They’ll also have gloves, and there will be plenty of cleaning and sanitizing at high-contact areas.

There will only be one worker at each poll with plexiglass separators.

“These are the minimum that we’ve set to do, but if we need to do more to respect local or provincial authorities, then we will,” Kenny added.

The federal election is set for Sept. 20. There will also be advance polls set for the tenth, ninth, eighth and seventh days before the election.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Logan Stein