Party nominations shift to mail, phone and online

Crowded political gatherings of past fall by wayside with distancing rules

Saskatchewan’s political parties are navigating how to prepare for an election in the age of social distancing, as the COVID-19 pandemic forces them to fill out candidate rosters using mail, phone and web.

The governing Saskatchewan Party lacks candidates in just five ridings. Party executive director Patrick Bundrock expects at least one, and possibly two, will be contested. The party had to find a way for members to vote without holding nomination meetings — and it chose the mail.

“Obviously we’re looking at the chief medical officer’s health orders very carefully,” said Bundrock. “We’re very respectful of them. The decision was made to proceed with the nominations. We felt the best approach was to do a mail-in ballot system.”

He said the nomination process will resume sometime in Phase 2 of Reopen Saskatchewan, which begins on May 19. He expects it to play out over the next 60 days.

The Saskatchewan NDP has more work to do. It is without a nominated candidate in 32 of 61 ridings. According to NDP provincial secretary John Tzupa, the party will choose candidates for five contested ridings by May 25.

He said the NDP has found a secure provider to run online and phone-based voting in those contests. All five — Regina Pasqua, Saskatoon Nutana, Saskatoon Riversdale, Saskatoon Southeast, Arm River — will be held simultaneously.

But that leaves out the candidate speeches and pep talks that fire up members in traditional in-person nomination meetings. For that, the party will use the Zoom platform to host meet-the-candidates events. Zoom has the advantage of offering a phone-in option for those who lack computers or good internet access, Tzupa said. He’s reaching out to make sure everyone knows how to use it.

“It’s a logistical challenge to do something completely different than you’ve ever done it before,” he said. “You want to make sure that you’re communicating clearly with everyone. Things have moved a bit slower sometimes than I would normally have them move”

He thinks the new process could ultimately engage more people, including some who would otherwise have been left out.

“There will be people that will be able to participate (who) wouldn’t have if they were forced to go in person or travel, especially in some rural constituencies,” Tzupa said.

Some of the remaining 26 ridings will nominate candidates through acclamation, which means there’s just one option and thus no need for a vote. According to Tzupa, those ridings will still hold virtual meetings on Zoom. More information on acclamations will begin to flow over the coming weeks.

But can Zoom capture the energy of a packed nomination room? Virtual camaraderie is still camaraderie, in Tzupa’s view.

“Working toward a common goal is absolutely motivating and morale building,” he said.

Bundrock said Saskatchewan Party riding associations may wish to hold their own virtual meetings, though he hasn’t heard of any yet being planned. In any case, candidates will be provided with membership lists they can use to reach out to members.

But he acknowledged it won’t be the same.

“That excitement will be missed if you do it by mail-in ballot or Zoom meeting,” said Bundrock. “But I’m sure that campaigns and candidates will find a way to generate that excitement within their own teams.

“I think we’re in very unchartered territory, for everyone,” he added. “I would say that the most important part is to make sure that members get to exercise their right to vote.”