Elections Sask. to begin counting mail-in ballots Wednesday

There’s still a lot to be decided following Monday’s election night in Saskatchewan.

At least eight ridings are still too close to call, and there is a chance that those ridings won’t be determined until Elections Saskatchewan finishes its final count — which only begins Nov. 7.

Prior to that final count, a second preliminary count is to begin Wednesday and could continue for up to three more days following that, according to Elections Saskatchewan.

“There are checks and balances that we have in the final count to ensure that the numbers are correct,” Saskatchewan’s chief electoral officer, Dr. Michael Boda, said Tuesday.

“Elections aren’t actually decided officially on election night.”

Elections Saskatchewan will begin counting more than 40,000 mail-in ballots it has received so far at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Priority will be given to the ridings with close races.

Boda said some constituencies could change hands as votes are counted moving forward. Results will be released after 1 p.m. and after 5 p.m. daily, when ballots are being counted.

“If a race remains tight after the second preliminary count, we won’t know for certain whether they remain in play until just before the final count when the additional ballots to count have been received,” Boda said.

On election night, Boda said 385,461 ballots were counted in the first preliminary count.