The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor New election rules designed to cut down on voter fraud unfairly target First Nations, Creighton and Denare Beach MLA Doyle Vermette charges. He recently renewed his long-standing opposition to provincial legislation requiring voters to show a form of government ID at the polls. "The government has said it wanted to encourage as many voters as possible to cast their ballots this fall," Vermette said in a news release, "but its deliberate refusal to address concerns about the effects of its new voting rules on on-reserve residents suggests that it has another agenda: suppressing the vote among First Nations voters." Vermette previously told The Reminder that photo ID is not always free and many of his constituents, including those living on First Nations, lack easy access to ID-producing services. In the release, he said the province had led the NDP to believe it would "take its cue from Elections Canada's residency rules about on-reserve voting." "Elections Canada's rules ensure that an on-reserve voter can't be denied the right to vote simply because their name does not appear on a utility bill or other government-issued document," he said, "and yet now the Wall government is officially dropping the Elections Canada standard it once claimed to respect, shortly before an election." Vermette said Elections Canada permits a Band Chief to sign an attestation of residence to establish voters' residency on a reserve, as these voters are traditionally among those who have had difficulty showing a document that establishes where they live. See 'New...' on pg. 10 Continued from pg. 7 "The government mentioned the attestation form when it introduced the legislation while suggesting the new provincial voting rules would resemble the federal ones," said Vermette. "They were given a copy of the Elections Canada form in committee when the issue of residency on reserve was raised. Why are they not taking the same steps Elections Canada takes to make sure these voters can cast a ballot?" The Reminder gave the Saskatchewan Party government an opportunity to respond to Vermette's statements but did not hear back from anyone on the record. Last year, when the province introduced legislation compelling voters in provincial elections to produce ID, Justice Minister Don Morgan called the change "appropriate" and "necessary...to ensure the integrity of our provincial electoral process." Voters without government-issued photo ID would be required to show other forms of ID or have another voter with the required ID vouch for them, the province said at the time. At the time, the province said the list of other allowable forms of identification would be "extensive" and "developed after further consultation with stakeholders." As of 2010, voters were required to show approved ID in federal elections and in provincial elections in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. Favoured Despite the debate over voting rules, Premier Brad Wall and the Sask-atchewan Party remain heavily favoured to win re-election in the Nov. 7 provincial election. A poll published earlier this month in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Regina Leader-Post suggested 63.4 per cent of decided voters support the Sask Party compared to 26.1 per cent for the NDP. The Liberals and Greens, neither of whom hold any seats in the legislature, polled 5.9 and three per cent respectively. The poll, conducted by Praxis Analytics surveyed 800 people by telephone in late August and early September. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 per cent, 19 times out of 20. According to CBC, no party has ever received 63 per cent of the vote in a Saskatchewan general election. The Sask Party came to power for the first time in 2007, ending 16 years of NDP rule. Since then the provincial economy has boomed largely on the strength of natural resources, helping the Sask Party maintain extremely strong support. The Sask Party won 38 of 58 seats in the last election, with the other 20 going to the New Democrats.
