Problems persist with overlapping elections
Some familiar issues remain despite the Saskatchewan Party government’s decision to change provincial and municipal election dates in 2020, a City of Saskatoon report says.
Premier Scott Moe’s government moved the 2020 election dates further apart after the possibility of tacking on an extra year to municipal terms was widely rejected.
Legislation forced the provincial election scheduled for the fall of 2015 to move to April 2016 to avoid a conflict with the 2015 federal election. That same legislation reset the date for the next provincial election to November 2020, just five days after the scheduled municipal elections for cities, towns and half of rural municipalities, as well as school boards.
“The potential for voter fatigue and voter confusion, particularly with respect to participation at municipal advance polls, still exists,” the report says.
The elections are now scheduled two weeks apart, pending passage of the legislation, with the provincial election set for Oct. 26, 2020, and the municipal vote on Nov. 9, 2020. The report outlines concerns that echo those raised by Saskatchewan’s chief electoral officer Michael Boda in a May 2017 paper. Boda recommended moving the next provincial election to April 2021 and then holding the following provincial election in the fall of 2025.
Boda also suggested alternatives like permanently moving either provincial or municipal elections to April. The provincial government rejected all of those, instead floating the widely panned idea of extending municipal terms to five years before settling on holding the votes two weeks apart.
“The election date changes will present challenges for voters, candidates, election administrators and the City,” the city report says. The report will be considered by city council’s governance and priorities committee, which includes all councillors and the mayor, on Monday.
The report notes the election campaign periods will still overlap and that election information for both will be distributed at the same time. In addition to competing for voters’ attention, the campaigns will also compete for the same pool of volunteers and facilities, such as schools and community halls.
In particular, the report raises concern about the potential for advance polls for the municipal and school board elections to be affected. The City of Saskatoon’s budget process also stands to be disrupted in election years since the budget has traditionally been debated and passed in the last week of November.
Under the legislation proposed by the Moe government, future provincial elections would be held on the last Monday in October, the traditional spot for municipal elections, and municipal/school board elections on the second Wednesday in November.
The 2020 municipal vote will be held on a Monday to avoid a conflict with Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.