ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The chief electoral officer has changed the date yet again.
In a statement late Tuesday, Bruce Chaulk said concerns have been raised about the timely return of ballots due to various weather and transportation disruptions.
“As a result, I am offering a period of leniency for the return of special ballots. All ballots must be received at Elections NL headquarters, 39 Hallett Cres. in St. John’s, by 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, Chaulk said in a statement to media late Tuesday afternoon.
“By setting this date we are enabling an extension for electors, while also maintaining our process for the special ballot count. Ballots received between now and March 25 will continue to be sorted into their respective ballot boxes and counted toward the end of the process.”
While deadlines and dates have been changed several times during this dragged-on provincial election, Chaulk said in the statement the new cutoff date will be strictly enforced.
The last of the voting kits were mailed to electors March 3, Elections NL said. Therefore, anyone who applied for a voting kit should receive it by this Friday, at the latest. If an elector has not received their voting kit by this Friday, they should call Elections NL using our toll-free number (1-877-729-7987). The call will be returned within 24-48 hours.
“We respectfully ask electors not to call our office to ask if their ballots have been received. Due to the volume of voting kits being returned, ballots are immediately sorted and sealed into ballot boxes when received. We are unable to address individual inquiries,” the statement said.
Not long after the news release from Elections NL, some of the province's political parties issued statements of their own.
The Liberals encouraged everyone who received a mail-in ballot to send back their completed kits as quickly as possible.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all candidates and everyone working hard throughout this campaign for their continued dedication,” Party Leader Andrew Furey said in the statement.
The NDP, however, continued to rise concerns about the ballot process.
Specifically, the party said there are concerns about timelines for voters in Labrador receiving kits in a timeframe that would have allowed them to be received by Elections NL, as opposed to postmarked by March 25.
The party said a received-by deadline versus a postmarked-date deadline is a concern because it makes no accommodation for weather, particularly with flights affected, in delaying the return of completed ballots.
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