The soap opera that is the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador election has reached the mail-in deadline for the ballots. Voters have until 4 pm Newfoundland time (2:30 pm Eastern time) today for their ballots to be received.
As you might recall in our last installment, Bruce Chaulk, chief electoral officer of Elections NL, switched all voting to the mail after the discovery of the B117 variant in the province.
The COVID-19 issues had been mostly limited to the Avalon Peninsula (southeastern Newfoundland, think St. John's and surrounding area). The plan had been for those outside this area to vote on February 13, the original election date.
Elections NL will release the results at noon Newfoundland time (10:30 am Eastern time) on Saturday.
There have been a number of problems with the mail-only option. Newfoundland and Labrador only has voting materials in English. This significantly affects French speakers as well as Indigenous languages — Inuktitut, Innu-aimun, and Mi’kmaw — especially in Labrador. Mail-only voting also affects populations such as homeless voters and people with disabilities.
The deadline for getting your vote in for the election has changed again!
— Peter Cowan (@PeterCBC) March 9, 2021
Ballots must now be received by 4pm on March 25. Originally had to be postmarked by March 12.
Elections NL says this extension is because of weather and transportation concerns #nlpoli
CBC News has reported that the election is on track for a record-low turnout of 51%, assuming all mailed ballots are returned by today's deadline. About 70,000 people voted in special and advance polls. Elections NL has received about 110,000 requests for mail-in ballots.
Newfoundland and Labrador election delayed for about half the province
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Campaigning has been difficult beyond the original February 13 election. Media is very limited in the province. St. John's has the only 2 TV signals in all of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Liberals (Andrew Furey) and Progressive Conservatives (Ches Crosbie) ran candidates in all 40 ridings. The NDP (Alison Coffin) have candidates in 33 ridings. Independents had 3 seats before the assembly was dissolved. There are 8 independents running.
NL Alliance has candidates in 6 ridings. The right-wing party had 0 MLAs. The party leader Graydon Pelley had to withdraw from the election due to a medical condition.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey (Liberals) might have easily won the election if the COVID-19 numbers had been better in that final week. Maybe not. PC Leader Ches Crosbie and NDP Leader Allison Coffin have expressed a number of concerns about the timing and process of the whole affair. The potential lack of turnout is a non-partisan concern.
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CanadianCrossing.com Newfoundland and Labrador coverage
We've gone beyond a month between the original election date and the mail-in ballot deadline. We only have to wait until Saturday to know the winner.
CBC TV and CBC Radio One will start the coverage at 11:30 am NT. You can watch the results online.
photo credit: CBC News
Twitter capture: @PeterCBC
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