City of Melfort providing increased mail-in ballots for municipal election amid COVID-19 pandemic
As the 2020 Saskatchewan municipal elections could take place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Melfort will provide more mail-in ballots.
The Election Bylaw was presented during the July 13 Melfort Council meeting where a mail-in voting system was established, along with other voting devices used in a vote counting system. Heather Audette, Melfort’s clerk, cited in a memo the city had more mail-in ballot applications during the 2016 election, and expects “a much larger uptake in 2020 if COVID-19 restrictions are still in place.” She finds the mail-in ballot to be flexible for voters who are homebound, in long-term care homes and hospitals, and who will be absent for advanced polling and election day.
The 2020 Melfort municipal election will take place at the Kerry Vickar Centre on Nov. 9 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., but Melfort Mayor Rick Lang expects the election to run differently even under one roof.
“Unless some things change some time between now and then, you’re still going to have to vote in person with some social distancing aspects,” Lang said regarding the pandemic. “There are going to be other options for people who aren’t comfortable doing [voting in person]. There were some other things that were discussed and considered, but those are the main additions to the Election Bylaw.”
