Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate is one of many polling stations around Melfort. (Angie Rolheiser/northeastNOW staff)

By Angie Rolheiser

Provincial Election

Voting day underway in Melfort

Oct 26, 2020 | 1:15 PM

Not much for wait times at polling stations around Melfort today with popularity around advance polls and mail-in ballots this year.

Senior Director Tim Kydd told northeastNOW more than 185,000 people voted in advance and 60,000 mailed in their ballots across the province.

“Depending on the location you go to in Melfort today for how busy it will be and how quiet it will be,” Kydd said.

In 2016, there were less than 5,000 mail-in ballots, 70,000 more voters utilized advance polls across the province.

Polls are open until 8 p.m. tonight with pandemic protocols in place.

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“Physical distancing, sanitizer, masks, single-use pencils, all of that in place,” Kydd said.

Kydd said there is typically a rush from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. after supper.

There are a lot of signs of a very healthy democracy in Saskatchewan, according to Kydd.

“It is everyone’s right to vote, we have more than 200 candidates run and six registered parties,” Kydd said. “We have had more than 250,000 voters vote and we have roughly 15,000 workers for the election.”

Those working the election this time around are high school students with the change of legislation that allowed the hiring as young as 16 years of age as opposed to the previous 18.

“We put out a call to students, there is no school today and gives students a chance to experience democracy first-hand,” Kydd said. “We have hundreds and hundreds of high-school students around the province working today and it’s fantastic to see.”

Vote by mail ballots will not be counted until Wednesday so tonight will be preliminary results with some constituencies not having final results until later this week.

Full details on where to vote can be found here.

We will have regular election updates on your local radio dial at 750 Beach Radio in Melfort from 7:30 p.m. as well as full details and reaction later here on northeastNOW.com.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser