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Only one in two Saskatchewan residents registered to vote actually voted in the election. 2024 general elections — a ratio which, according to a political science researcher, is problematic.

As polls closed at 8 p.m. on October 28, a total of 439,771 ballots had been cast in the 2024 provincial election, representing 52.9 per cent of registered voters, according to Elections Saskatchewan.

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“A little more than half of eligible voters voting is a problem,” said Charles Smith, an associate professor of political science at the University of Saskatchewan. “We would like to see more people vote and register their votes, given all the issues that have been at the forefront of this campaign. »

Saskatchewan’s turnout rate is lower than recently held provincial elections in British Columbia and New Brunswick, where two-thirds of eligible voters turned out, 61 percent and 66 percent respectively. Alberta and Manitoba also saw more engagement in 2023, putting Saskatchewan at the bottom of the list nationally.

Demographic data is not yet available, but Smith said overall election turnout has been declining for several decades in Saskatchewan, likely due to voter apathy rather than voter fatigue.

This could be due to a growing sense of disconnection from the issues that political parties focus on – or don’t focus on – during their governing and campaigning phases, he theorized.

“The parties, I think, have some responsibility here,” he said. “Voters don’t see themselves represented, don’t think their vote matters or don’t think their problems are solved, (and) I think that’s part of the problem.”

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The causes of voter apathy are both policy and political, more so than poll accessibility, Smith said.

Early turnout during the first days of voting week showed a sharp increase in voting activity, with 47 percent more ballots cast in the first six days than during early voting in 2020. In an effort to make voting more accessible, Elections Saskatchewan introduced a seven-day vote. voting day week for the first time this election.

The final numbers stabilized on October 28, but ultimately resulted in a slightly lower turnout rate. 54 percent seen in 2020.

“Getting rid of as many barriers to people’s access to the ballot as possible is, I think, helpful — and I think they’ve done their best, but I don’t think you can pull yourself out of decline of voter turnout,” Smith says.

According to him, the big questions are: “How can we renew our democratic institutions? » and “How can we make sure people see themselves in the voting process?” »

Smith also suggested that the distribution of seats between rural and urban areas has gained between Saskatchewan. The party and the NDP could have some influence on municipal elections in Saskatoon and Regina next month.

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The initial count by Elections Saskatchewan shows that Regina turn completely orange for the NDP, and the party leads in 12 of Saskatoon’s 14 ridings, with a close battle for Saskatoon Westview and Saskatoon Willowgrove.

“Anyone associated with Saskatchewan. I think the party in these urban centers is going to run away from this party, as we saw in Saskatoon with the Gord Wyant (mayor) campaign,” he said.

Regardless, Smith and Tom McIntosh, a politics professor at the University of Regina, agree that municipal elections still tend to attract a much lower level of engagement than provincial politics, and that won’t change. probably not this year.

“Turnout in municipal elections is always catastrophic (and) a municipal election immediately following a provincial election risks tiring people out,” McIntosh said.

“Everything seems to revolve around electoral politics, whether here in the South or at the municipal level. So I think there is a risk that we will see even lower participation.”

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The average voter turnout in Regina was around 20 per cent in the last three municipal elections. Saskatoon is performing slightly better, averaging 25 percent in the last two elections.

Elections Regina returning officer and municipal clerk Jim Nicol said staff were working to disseminate information to voters about the next municipal elections on Nov. 13, but fatigue is “a huge concern.”

— with Alec Salloum’s files

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