Final day of voting in 3 Sask. byelections underway

A trio of Saskatchewan byelections are set to be decided today, the final day of voting in Regina Coronation Park, Regina Walsh Acres and Lumsden-Morse. 

Polling locations opened at 9 a.m. CST and will close at 8 p.m. CST. Watch cbc.ca/sask and the free CBC News app after polls close for updates as results come in.

On Wednesday, Saskatchewan's chief electoral officer Michael Boda said he views the byelections as a microcosm of what next year's general election could look like.

He added that Elections Saskatchewan's efforts to modernize the voting process will take centre stage on Thursday as the organization continues a multi-year process that is set to be completed in 2028. 

"Election systems are somewhat like a cruise ship, not a speedboat. Changes need to be introduced slowly, methodically, because otherwise you risk upsetting the entire election system," he said. 

Among the changes are the option to vote by mail (which was also available in the 2020 election), the use of electronic equipment to count hand-marked paper ballots and the introduction of a voting week. 

Polls were open on Aug. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and Thursday, the official date of the byelection.

According to a tally provided by Elections Saskatchewan for the first five days of voting, 1,861 votes have been cast in Lumsden-Morse, 2,475 have been cast in Regina Coronation park and 3,013 have been cast in Regina Walsh Acres. 

That's a total of 7,349 votes across the three constituencies. 

Boda said it should not take long for results to start coming in once polls close at 8 p.m. CST.

"I think it's likely that at most locations you'll see reporting between 15 and 30 minutes after the polls for those that are using vote counting equipment," Boda told media during a technical briefing on the byelections. 

"It is important to note that because it is such a geographically large constituency, some votes in Lumsden-Morris will be counted by hand." 

That means results for the rural constituency could come a little later on Thursday. 

Elections Saskatchewan is recommending eligible voters bring ID and their voter information card with them when they go to vote.

There hasn't been an August byelection in Saskatchewan since 1938, making Thursday's byelections the first to be held in August in 85 years. 

With that in mind, here's a brief overview of each riding that is up for grabs on Thursday. 

Lumsden-Morse

Lumsden-Morse shares a partial border with Regina and extends into southwest Saskatchewan.

The constituency has been a Saskatchewan Party stronghold since it was created ahead of the 2016 provincial election. 

Veteran Saskatchewan Party MLA and former minister of agriculture Lyle Stewart garnered more than 70 per cent of the vote in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

On March 6, Stewart announced his resignation for health reasons.

Of the trio of byelections, only Lumsden-Morse has candidates from the three parties currently with a seat in the legislature: The Saskatchewan Party, New Democratic Party and Saskatchewan United Party. 

The names on the ballot are:

• Les Guillemin, Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan.
• Kaitlyn Stadnyk, New Democratic Party.
• Isaiah Hunter, Saskatchewan Green Party.
• Blaine McLeod, Saskatchewan Party.
• Jon Hromek, Saskatchewan United Party.

Regina Coronation Park

A tight race is expected in this constituency, which was held by Saskatchewan Party MLA Mark Docherty since 2011. 

Before that, it was held by the NDP's Kim Trew from 1986 to 2011. 

Docherty, the former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and minister of parks, culture and sport, won by the nearest of margins. 

In 2016, Docherty edged the NDP candidate by 147 votes. In 2020, Regina Coronation Park was the fifth-closest race in the province when Docherty won by 283 votes. 

Docherty resigned in February to pursue other opportunities.

Among the candidates are two men who immigrated from Pakistan to Regina: Noor Burki and Riaz Ahmad. 

The names on the ballot are:

• Noor Burki, New Democratic Party.
• Olasehinde Ben Adebayo, Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.
• Kendra Anderson, Saskatchewan Green Party.
• Riaz Ahmad, Saskatchewan Party.
• Reid Hill, Saskatchewan Progress Party.

Regina Walsh Acres

The voters in the constituency of Regina Walsh Acres sent New Democrats to the legislature consistently from 1967 to 2011. But for the past dozen years, the Saskatchewan Party has held the seat. 

Saskatchewan Party MLA Derek Meyers was a newcomer to politics when he was elected to represent the riding in 2020.

He was seen as a rising star in the party, popular in caucus and a regular at Regina events. On March 28, Meyers died after a battle with cancer.

The names on the ballot are:

• Jared Clarke, New Democratic Party.
• Rose Buscholl, Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.
• Joseph Reynolds, Saskatchewan Green Party.
• Nevin Markwart, Saskatchewan Party.