The three up-coming by-elections in Saskatchewan, with no dates set yet, will be a test of a more modern voting system. That’s according to the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Saskatchewan, who says that electronic poll books and voter information card scanners were introduced in the Saskatoon-Meewasin by-election last year and for these the three upcoming by-elections, the modernization will continue expansion with vote counting machines.

An electronic poll book replaces the large documents election workers would use with rulers and pencils to find your name. With the new system, your voter card is scanned and your name pops up.

Dr. Michael Boda explains that the voting system hasn’t changed much since 1905, so making elections more accessible, more efficient and improving accuracy is the goal. One change that was ahead of schedule was expanding vote by mail as an option. Boda says it was originally going to be promoted in 2028, but because of the pandemic, it was introduced as an option during the pandemic, although vote by mail has always been available.

In 2016, around 4,400 people, or one per cent of the population, mailed in their ballots and in 2020, with the pandemic, and a new system for mail-in ballots, over 56,000 people chose that option. Boda adds that it’s no longer just the one day you can vote, like it was in 1905. There are now advanced voting and mail-in options, making it more of an election week.

The first preliminary count will be on election day, and then the second preliminary count with the mail-in ballots count is a few days later, and the the final count is twelve days after the election. The next provincial election will be in 2024. The three by-elections will be in Regina-Coronation Park, Lumsden-Morse and Regina-Walsh Acres.