Sask. seniors concerned polling stations no longer an option at independent living facilities

The Saskatchewan provincial election is less than two weeks away, but one group of voters is worried about their access to voting.

At the end of September, seniors who live in certain independent living facilities were told they would not have access to in-house polling stations on Oct. 28.

Jean Thomas, 102, has lived at independent living facility College Park II Retirement Residence in Regina for four years. She said this is the first year there will not be a polling station in the home, which she said was "quite convenient."

"I'm in a power chair and to get to a polling station causes a little problem. I either have to take a taxi or they have a shuttle bus here. But the shuttle bus takes only two [wheelchairs]," Thomas said.

"And of course I would say there are probably 50 people with power chairs or walkers that need a bus to get to a polling station. And of course, the bus would have to make 50 trips to take these people to the station."

Denise Pivovar, who is both a College Park II resident and a volunteer organizer within the facility, told CBC News there are approximately 170 seniors living there at this time. 

Thomas said she prefers not to mail in her vote. She is more comfortable voting in person, as she has always done. She said she is disappointed in Elections Saskatchewan for removing the in-person polling option from some independent living facilities.

Elections Saskatchewan Chief Electoral Officer Michael Boda told reporters on Sunday that anyone who has a physical disability and can't leave their home will be provided with "homebound voting" if they call their local returning office. 

"We're in 369 nursing homes across the province. Every single nursing home that is registered, licensed with the government of Saskatchewan ... we will be going in and providing those ballots there."

CBC requested clarification from Elections Saskatchewan about homebound voting. It said that type of voting covers anyone in the province with accessibility issues, including residents of independent living facilities like College Park II. These voters must fill out a homebound voting application, found on the Elections Saskatchewan website. The form must be submitted to their local returning office by Oct. 19. A ballot box, ballot and form will then be delivered by an election worker to the voter on the week of the election.

If a voter with accessibility issues needs help filling out the homebound voting application, they can call their local returning office and an election worker will go directly to them to help fill it out, according to Elections Saskatchewan. That worker can submit that application for them. Alternatively, the voter can submit the application by mail.

• Follow more Saskatchewan election coverage, including full news conferences, on CBC Saskatchewan's YouTube page.

Not enough notice given

Marlene Betker, 89, said the Regina independent living seniors complex she lives in, Broadway Terrace, is in the same boat as College Park II. 

"It sort of put us in a bind," Betker said.

• Platform Tracker 2024: How do Saskatchewan's parties compare on these election issues?

Betker said that there are approximately 200 seniors in residence between Broadway Terrace and its sister facility next door, Harvest Haven. And many of these seniors do not have family nearby to drive them to polling centres. She said there is no van service available to transport residents to polling stations.

As for finding their own way to a provincial election polling station, Betker said accessibility is a major issue, as many residents have walkers or other mobility devices. Some are also visually impaired. 

"We have a polling station about two long blocks away and there's no way that many of our older citizens would have been able to manage that," she said.

Betker is also concerned that there could be snow and ice in Regina soon. 

"And, so, I thought seniors are being disenfranchised."

She said Elections Saskatchewan recommended the seniors vote by mail. But Betker said they could have used more of a heads up, as they only found out they wouldn't have a polling station at the end of September.

On Tuesday, Elections Saskatchewan told CBC it had visited senior facilities and communicated the updated ballot casting protocols as early as January.

Furthermore, anyone with accessibility issues, including those that live at Broadway Terrace, can apply for homebound voting.

Meanwhile, Betker said residents at Broadway Terrace are grateful to know that a polling station will be in the facility for the upcoming municipal election.

Meanwhile, some seniors at Broadway Terrace have contacted their local MLA concerning transportation. 

"She said they would hopefully provide as many rides as they could," Betker said. "So we'll put a sign up that that will happen and we're appreciative of that."