Hundreds of voter cards mistakenly sent out to underage Sask. residents

Even though many young Saskatchewan residents are eager to cast their first ballots in a provincial election, hundreds of voter information cards have landed in the hands of people who are still too young to legally vote.

Elections Saskatchewan said it sent 475 voter information cards to underage residents by mistake.

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“The inclusion of these under-18-year-olds was a processing error,” Elections Saskatchewan told 650 CKOM in an email.

More than 800,000 voter cards were sent out to registered voters in the province, and the organization said it immediately sent follow-up letters to each underage person who received a voter information card, telling them the card was sent in error.

It was a busy Day One for Elections Saskatchewan… including mistakenly sending out voter cards to hundreds of underage residents.

Here’s what we know ⤵️@CKOMNews @CJMENews #SaskVotes2024 pic.twitter.com/nO5oERWr8f

— Alex Brown (@AlexBrownYXE) October 23, 2024

“When Elections Saskatchewan became aware of the mistake, we immediately reached out to inform each individual of the error. They received a letter, either hand delivered or by priority post,” Elections Saskatchewan said in a statement.

The letters explained the voter cards were sent by mistake and informed the teens they are not eligible to vote in the upcoming election, as they would not be 18 years old on October 28, the day of the provincial election.

Elections Saskatchewan said the 475 individuals have birthdays in 2006 and 2007.

Even with the voter cards, Elections Saskatchewan said the teens wouldn’t have been able to cast a ballot, as a piece of ID is also required to vote.

More than 300 polling stations across Saskatchewan are now open, with voting running until Monday.