The deadline has come and gone to apply for a special ballot to vote in the 2021 provincial election.
Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk acknowledges concerns over the potential for delayed delivery of voters kits due to weather and has issued an extension of the deadline to return special ballots to Elections NL.
“We have heard from many electors who expressed concerns that the deadline to return Special Ballots was insufficient, mainly due to concerns over delivery delays resulting from inclement weather.”
-Excerpt from statement by Bruce Chaulk.
Ballots must now be post-marked by Friday, March 12 to be accepted. Chaulk says that gives three weeks to receive, mark, and return a ballot.
Many last-minute applicants were dismayed to run into issues connecting with Elections Newfoundland and Labrador representatives, and those seeking the online application form may not have faired much better.
Callers to VOCM News reported waiting on hold for over an hour for their chance to request a special ballot. While posts to social media shared concerns of repeated failures to connect to Elections NL’s online portal.
As of the 8 p.m. deadline, Chaulk says about 110,000 requests for special ballots were received—whether by email, phone call, fax, traditional mail, or online. Some of the requests, he notes, were made for several people within the same household. His office estimates that the actual number of applications may be much higher.
About 24,000 voting kits had been mailed out as of Friday.
