Post Election Reporting – Volumes II & IV
Yesterday, I tabled Volume II, Administrative Review, and Volume IV, Chief Electoral Officer’s Recommendations for Legislative Reform, in A Report on the Thirtieth General Election with the Legislative Assembly.
The Administrative Review offers a detailed look at our last election based on in-person observations, survey research and focus groups with key stakeholders. Within it I also make a series of administrative commitments – areas we can improve on without the need for legislative change. Some of these commitments relate to my office’s relationship with political parties and candidates so I would encourage you to review them closely and to be in contact if you have questions.
Volume IV offers my recommendations for legislative change. I’ve provided more details on the contents of Volume IV below as I know this will be of considerable interest to you.
Both Volumes II and IV can be found on our website: https://www.elections.sk.ca/reports-data/reports-publications/. If you would like a hard copy, please send an email and we’ll ship them to you.
Given that I tabled Volumes II and IV, you may be wondering where Volume III, Statement of Expenditures, is. Due to some of the timelines around political reimbursements and some of our other “wrap up” work related to a general election, it takes about a year after voting ends for all the accounting work to be completed. My team is currently finalizing tables and content that will appear in Volume III. My expectation is that the volume will be published early in the new year. Due to legislative timelines, I wanted to ensure that my Volume IV report was tabled as soon as possible, so I opted to finalize and distribute it ahead of Volume III.
Recommendations for Legislative Change (Volume IV)
I know that my legislative change recommendations are of interest to you and your team members. Here is a brief summary of a few of the changes I think have relevance to registered political parties. Please remember that as Chief Electoral Officer I can only make recommendations – it is legislators who must review these and decide which should become law.
When you read Volume IV, you’ll see that I am proposing some changes be made to The Election Act, 1996 (the Act) and other changes are proposed via a CEO Directive approved by the Board of Internal Economy. I’ve made note of which method applies to which items below.
Again, these are only a few highlights of what is included in Volume IV. I’d encourage you to read through the report and to be in touch if you have questions or comments.
Transition to 31st Electoral Cycle Communique
Back in the spring, I mentioned that my office was working through the transition from primarily focusing on closing out the province’s 30th General Election to preparing for the 31st General Election. This is always a bit of a murky process as certain activities overlap and gradually our attention moves from focusing on the previous event to looking forward to the next one.
With the publication and tabling of Volumes II and IV, I think it is time to formally transition our 30th Electoral Cycle Communique for Chief Official Agents to the 31st Electoral Cycle Communique for Chief Official Agents. This may include design changes, but my goal remains the same – to provide you, as Chief Official Agent, with the information you need to complete your role and to ensure you fully understand what we are working on at Elections Saskatchewan and how we are getting ready for the next event.
As always, if you have suggestions on content or information that you would like to receive via the Communique, please be in touch. I am looking forward to working through the next several years with you as we get ready for October 2028.
Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan