8 Sask. ridings too close to call, including NDP Leader Ryan Meili's, with mail-in ballots still to be counted

The campaigns have ended, but the election is far from over.

That's because eight Saskatchewan electoral districts are in races too tight to call withthousands of mail-in ballots yet to be counted.

Mail-in ballots reached record-high levels due to the pandemic, with 61,255 ballots requested and more than 40,000 returned to Elections Saskatchewan by election day.

That's a huge increase from the 4,420 mail-in ballots received during the 2016 provincial election.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili'sriding in flux

Prince Albert Northcote, Regina Coronation Park, Regina Pasqua, Regina University, Saskatoon Eastview, Saskatoon Meewasin, Saskatoon Riversdale and Saskatoon University were all declared too close to call by CBC News due to the volume of mail-in ballots still to be counted.

The Saskatchewan NDP did not putup candidates in these tight races for interviews, saying it iswaiting for results to be finalized.

Rylund Hunter, who is running against the Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili, thanked his team for their efforts in a statement sent to media.

"Saskatoon Meewasin is a really tight race at this point. Big thanks to my team of volunteers and those that supported me at the polls. We will have to wait on the mail-in ballot count to see the final result."

Chris Gurette became the Saskatchewan Party candidate in the electoral district of Saskatoon Eastview after original candidate Daryl Cooper resigned whenit was made public he had interacted with QAnon supporters online. Aselection night concluded, NDP candidate Matt Love was leading Gurette by less than 100 votes in a riding where more than 1,500 mail-in ballots have been approved.

Gurette saidwaiting on mail-in ballots is "the reality of an election during a pandemic" and that she's excited to see what the results hold.

"That's what the process is all about. The democratic process is one that requires patience and it just means this marathon is requiring a few more days and I look forward to hearing the results."

Neil Hibbert, department head at the University of Saskatchewan's department of political science, said he's not aware of any time in Saskatchewan's history the province has been faced with this type of situation during an election.

"It really sits at odds with people's experience and expectations with elections," said Hibbert. "Generally, there's this sort of build up to the one big day, a bit of early voting maybe, but the majority of ballots being cast on election day."

He said it's common for people to gather after polls closeand watch the results roll in ascandidates concede or claim victory. He said this "puts a bow on the process," allowingthe province to move forward.

In this electionpeople may be waiting days to hear final results.

The count for mail-in ballots received by Oct. 26won't be started until Oct. 28, with mail-in ballots received after election day being counted Nov. 7.

Hibbertsaid the longer the timeframe between election day and the results, the more possibilities there are for "little bumps along the road," which may include candidates seeking legal advice or challenging ballots.

He said he feels it's important to practise a bit of patience as the results are tallied.

"Ultimately, an accurate count is more important than an immediate or a timely one," he said.

Michael Boda, Saskatchewan's Chief Electoral Officer, said mail-in and advanceballots were used to spread out voting as much as possible to combat the spread of COVID-19.

He said that while more than 61,000 mail-in ballots were approved, Elections Saskatchewan has no idea how many of those will be returned, saying the counting of ballots will be a "very different process" than the 2016 election.

"In Saskatchewan, normally the election is pretty much over on election night," said Boda. "Because we have such a large number of people vote-by-mail ballots, and there may be some close races, in those instances they may depend on the vote-by-mail count."

Boda stressed that the first two counts, on Oct. 26 and Oct. 28, are considered preliminary counts, with aNov. 7 count being considered final. Counting could be slowed by the fact election workers are using gloves, as opposed to their bare hands, as they manually count the vote, Boda said.

While Boda has helped guide elections through natural disasters and violence in the decades he's been working as an electoral officer, he concededrunning Saskatchewan's election during a pandemic is a first for him.

"It has been challenging. It has been unique, I will say it has been interesting," he said.

Hibbertsaid so many people being willing to take the extra steps to cast their ballot during a pandemic is something to be noted.

"If you think about it, it's kind of a remarkable achievement that people are willing to adjust and be flexible in real time," he said.

Tight races by the numbers:votes tallied so farand mail-in ballots pending

Prince Albert Northcote

Sask Party, Alana Ross: 2,393

NDP, Nicole Rancourt: 2,171

Difference: 222

Mail-in ballots to be counted: 568

Regina Coronation Park

Sask. Party, Mark Docherty: 2,652

NDP, Noor Burki: 2,202

Difference: 450

Mail-in Ballots to be counted: 806

Regina Pasqua

Sask. Party, Muhammad Fiaz: 3,781

NDP, Bhajan Brar: 3,205

Difference: 576

Mail-in ballots to be counted: 2,674

Regina University

SaskParty, Tina Beaudry-Mellor: 2,573

NDP, Aleana Young: 2,395

Difference: 178

Mail-in Ballots to be counted: 1,814

Saskatoon Eastview

NDP, Matt Love: 3,127

Sask. Party, Chris Gurette: 3,025

Difference: 102

Mail-in ballots to be counted: 1,555

Saskatoon Riversdale:

Sask. Party, Marv Friesen: 2,661

NDP, Ashlee Hicks: 2,387

Difference: 274

Mail-in ballots to be counted: 920

Saskatoon Meewasin

Sask. Party, Rylund Hunter: 2,805

NDP, Ryan Meili: 2,722

Difference: 83

Mail-in ballots to be counted: 1,656

Saskatoon University

NDP, Jennifer Bowes: 2,414

Sask. Party, Eric Olauson: 2,309

Difference: 105

Mail-in ballots to be counted: 1,296

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