High turnout for advance voting prompts Elections Sask. to hire more workers

High turnout for advance voting had Elections Saskatchewan adding workers, and ballot boxes, to the polling stations.

"We expected an increased turnout," Tim Kydd, a senior director at Elections Saskatchewan, said Wednesday. "Even though the polls are open for 35 hours this week, we expected some voters to be anxious and show up the minute the doors opened at three o'clock the first day."

According to Elections Saskatchewan, over 24,000 people cast ballots on the first day of advance polling which was Tuesday. That's up from the 2011 general election, when around 16,000 people voted on the first day for early voting in that election.

Kydd said that 24 teams — for the most part consisting of a deputy returning officer, poll clerk and a ballot box — were sent out to advance polling stations across Saskatchewan to compensate for the increased turnout.

"We were able to, in an hour and a half, remove any lineups that had existed," Kydd said.

Helen Beaven went to the advance polling station at Henry Kelsey School in Saskatoon's Mayfair neighbourhood on Wednesday afternoon. 

"We waited until the second day because we saw it was busy yesterday," she said.  

In the last provincial election Beaven said she went on the first day for advance voting and it was very busy. 

Voter registration changes 

Elections Saskatchewan said that a change in voter registration from the 2011 general election has probably contributed to the increase. Legislation now allows the organization to keep a permanent voters list. Prior to the change, enumeration was carried out door-to-door by more than 3,000 workers.

The 2016 provincial election is also the first to open the advance polls to all eligible voters in Saskatchewan.

Kydd said that given those changes to voting in the province, it's no surprise that voters are turning up in greater numbers. And that's why additional workers were on standby for the first day of advance polls.

"We had our backup teams trained and ready for areas where the volume was great and we deployed them immediately."

Diana Munkholm said she was happy to see the changes which allowed the advance polls to be open to more people.

"Not everybody has the opportunity on only one day," Munkholm said. "There may be other commitments they have, so this gives them a few more options."

Early voting for the election started this week.

Here are the hours:

• Tuesday through Friday: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday: Noon to 7 p.m.

Voting on election day — Monday, April 4 — is set for 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.