How will ballots be counted for the Saskatchewan election?

A polling station sign for the 2024 Saskatchewan election is seen in this undated photo. (David Prisciak / CTV News)

As the final day of voting for the Saskatchewan election inches closer, voters may be wondering when official winners will be declared.

In a media briefing on Friday, Chief Electoral Officer with Elections Saskatchewan, Michael Boda gave a breakdown of the ballot counting timeline, explaining that the first preliminary count will begin at 8 p.m. on Monday when the polls close.

“During the first preliminary count, we will be counting all of the ballots from voting week as well as any homebound voting ballots and personal care facilities. Those are the 369 licenced nursing homes in which we have allowed people to vote in those homes,” he explained.

“This count has always occurred this way after the polls on the last day of voting.”

Voting week began on Tuesday, Oct. 22, with polls closing at 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28.

Ballot counting will unfold over a 12-day period, with the second preliminary count taking place on Oct. 30, and the final count taking place on Nov. 9.

The second preliminary count will include vote by mail ballots which will be received by Saturday, Oct. 26.

“These will be counted centrally here in Regina, as they were in 2020,” Boda said.

The final count will verify and count remaining ballots.

“The final count for constituencies will be conducted at two locations, at the returning office and centrally in Regina. Returning offices will be verifying the numbers generated from the first preliminary count. They won't be counting any new ballots at the returning office. It's a verification process,” Boda said.

“Meanwhile, the central count in Regina will count vote by mail ballots received from October 27th right up until November the 7th, two days before the final count, along with ballots that have come from hospitals, remand facilities and if applicable, polls for voters who have been temporarily displaced.”

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Boda emphasized the importance of accuracy and transparency during the counting process.

“Elections Saskatchewan is concerned that the votes be counted correctly and accurately, and we will take what time is necessary in order to do that. That’s what’s most important in this context,” he said.

“It’s only following the final count that we will know which candidates have been selected by their constituents.”

Boda said the reasoning behind the 12-day ballot counting and verification process is to make sure ensure the integrity of the process.

“No one is allowed to vote twice in this province. We know that, and we've never had a problem with this, but it is part of the integrity, and that is that we will first of all, count the in person ballots, and then for the second when we count the vote by mail ballots, we're able to determine whether an individual has voted a second time,” Boda said.

While all ballots will be counted by hand, Boda said election workers in the major population areas of the province will be using electronic poll books, which are only used to cross off names of registered voters when they arrive to cast their ballot.

“Electronic poll books are laptops with specialized software on them that allow us to replace the pencils and rulers that were used to strike off voters, off what was a very thick list of voters, which you've seen before, and they electronically and far more accurately manage the voters list for us. They allow us to handle a much greater volume of voters,” he said.