Andrew Waterman
The Telegram
Elections Newfoundland and Labrador received 110,000 emails, phone calls, faxes, mailed and online applications for special ballots as of the 8 p.m. deadline on Feb. 19, a statement from Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk said.
“Some of these requests, especially those made by phone and email, were from eligible voters requesting mail out ballots for several members of the same household,” the statement said. “Therefore, the 110,000 figure does not necessarily mean 110,000 applications. We estimate it may be much more than that.”
The latest date which a ballot can be post-marked in order to be counted has been pushed back to March 12.
“We have heard from many electors who expressed concerns that the deadline to return special ballots was insufficient, mainly due to concerns over delivery delays resulting from inclement weather,” the statement said. “This allows Newfoundlanders and Labradorians three weeks to receive, mark and return their ballots.”
Any ballots post-marked after March 12 will be rejected.
According to the Elections NL website, in the spring 2019 general election in the province, the final revised voters list prepared for polling day on May 16 listed 354,136 registered electors. In total 214,807 registered electors voted, which represents a turnout of 60.7 per cent.
A statement from the Liberal campaign said, “It is important that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have the opportunity to vote, and the Chief Electoral Officer is navigating this unprecedented situation to run a safe and accessible election.”
In a telephone interview, NDP acting provincial president Kyle Rees said the high numbers are great, but what concerns them is who isn’t counted in the numbers.
“We also know through complaints we’re receiving from our constituents, our voters, our supporters that the websites have been down, the phone lines have been busy once they were going to the correct number and people haven’t received stuff in the mail,” he said.
Rees has no doubt the staff at Elections NL are working very hard, but he is concerned that people who have faced barriers in the voting process may have decided it just wasn’t worth it to vote.
“If you’ve got a deadly flu virus and a couple of hoops you have to jump through in order to get your ballot to cast your vote, the reality is there is a lot of people who would normally show up to the polling station and vote that day who just aren’t going to do it,” he said.
The Progressive Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment by end of day on Saturday.
@AndrewLWaterman
