More than 10,000 Saskatoon voters cast ballots in first 3 days of advance polls

More than 10,000 Saskatoon voters turned out duringthe civic election's first three days of advance polls, whichincluded the city's first-ever drive-thru advance polling station.

According to Scott Bastian, the city's returning officer, a total of 9,730 people voted at traditional advance polls on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Another 583 people voted at the drive-thru advance poll in the city's North Industrial Area. In total, the city has averaged 3,437 advance voters per day so far.

By comparison, 14,772 Saskatoon residents voted in advance pollsfor the 2016 civic election. There was no drive-thru station.

There are four more days of advance polling left, on top of election day on Nov. 9, as the city works to ensure as strong a turnout as possible in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only 50.1 per cent of eligible voters turned out for last week's provincial election, down from 53.5 per cent in 2016, stoking concerns in Saskatoon about a low turnout for the civic election.

• Saskatoon mayoral candidates worried about voter turnout in wake of provincial election results

Click here for a full list of advance polling locations.

If the advance voting numbers keep up, it could be strong year in terms of early turnout.

The city previously reported that it received more than 14,000 mail-in ballot applications.

• More than 14,000 Saskatoon voters have already applied for mail-in ballots