ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — With the province dialled up once against to Alert Level 5 in an effort to contain the spread of a variant strain of the COVID-19 virus, in-person voting has been cancelled in all 40 provincial electoral districts in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the election will be done entirely by mail-in voting.
That was the announcement from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk in a news release Friday night.
“As a result of this evening’s change to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Public Health Alert Level, I am suspending in-person voting for all 40 provincial electoral districts. In-person voting will not be rescheduled,” Chaulk stated. “The election will now shift exclusively to voting by mail, using special ballots.
“I urge anyone interested in voting in this election to apply for a Special Ballot to ensure your democratic participation."
News Release - In-Person Voting Canceled #nlpoli #nlvotes pic.twitter.com/KaV7Q9hBzN
— Elections NL (@NLElections) February 13, 2021
The deadline to apply for a mail-in application has been extended to 8 p.m. this coming Monday, Feb. 15. Ballots must be returned on or before March 1.
Assistance with the process is available by phone at 1-877-729-7987 (toll-free) or 729-0789 (local).
Saturday was to have seen in-person voting in 22 electoral districts; the remaining 18 — all on the Avalon Peninsula — had already seen in-person voting suspended after the virus outbreak was discovered in the metro region earlier in the week,
Early Friday afternoon, a news release from Chaulk’s office stated candidates in those 18 districts would not be allowed to advertise or fundraise until after Saturday, when the other 22 districts had been scheduled to vote.
Friday night’s news release did not address whether the “campaign advertising blackout period” would remain in effect Saturday.
Chaulk announced he was postponing the election in the 18 St. John’s-area districts after receiving letters stating dozens of elections staff had quit over concerns about dealing with the public as the number of cases of COVID-19 in the province continues to rise.
The political parties had been looking for clarity since Thursday, with no luck until Chaulk’s first statement came out near suppertime Friday.
The second release, the one indicating complete cancellation of in-person voting, or what might once have been called the “regular” election, didn’t come out until after Chaulk apparently announced the decision on CTV national news.
This occurred while Premier Andrew Furey, Health Minister John Haggie and Chief Medical Officer of Health Janice Fitzgerald were holding a media briefing to reveal the change to Alert Level 5 and the reasons for it.
When asked by local media, during that briefing, how the province-wide lockdown would impact Saturday’s scheduled election, Furey said that would be a decision to be made and announced by Chaulk.
At almost the same time, Chaulk was making public his decision on a national media platform, although he said, at the time, he had yet to inform provincial party leaders of the move.
Special Ballot Voting
(from Elections NL)
Special Ballot voting is an early voting option for every qualified elector in Newfoundland and Labrador. Interested electors must complete an application and provide identification. A Special Ballot voting kit will be mailed to you to complete after your application has been approved. The Special Ballot voting kit must be either returned to Elections NL by mail or in person.
Applying to Vote by Special Ballot
- Proof of identity must accompany each application (see below).
- Electors can apply to vote by Special Ballot and, once an application is approved, a Special Ballot kit is issued. This kit consists of a ballot and a series of envelopes designed to protect the secrecy of the elector's vote.
Information Required with Application
The following information must be submitted on a Special Ballot application:
- the name of the applicant and the current address of the applicant's residence in the Province
- the applicant's mailing address
- the applicant's date of birth
- proof of the applicant's identity by including:
- the name of the applicant and the current address of the applicant's residence in the Province
- the applicant's mailing address
- Note: Click here for a list of acceptable ID.
Electors without required identification
If an applicant has no identification, they must download and submit one of the following forms (Note: If no method of downloading and printing is available, please contact Elections NL by telephone, toll-free or locally, at (1-877) 729-7987):
- Guarantor's Declaration Form: This is a confirmation by another person who can provide proof of the applicant's identity and address of ordinary residence in the electoral district in which the applicant intends to vote. A person is permitted to act as a Guarantor to only one applicant; or
- Affidavit for Voting by Special Ballot: An affidavit signed before an authorized person (e.g. Commissioner for Oaths, Justice of the Peace) verifying the elector's name, current address and signature.
Returning a Completed Application
A completed application for Special Ballots with accompanying documentation can be returned to Elections Newfoundland and Labrador using one of the following methods:
- By emailing a scanned copy of the application and supporting documents to the Special Ballot team at [email protected]
- By faxing applications and supporting documentation to (709) 729-5671, district returning office
