If the advance polls are any indication, the crowds could be heavy on election day Wednesday.
Advance polling has been underway in all 58 ridings since last Thursday and according to Elections Saskatchewan officials, the numbers are well ahead of the pace set in the 2003 provincial election.
That could mean heavy traffic in the polling stations during the Nov. 7 election, according to Saskatchewan's deputy chief returning officer David Wilkie.
Advance polls, for people who don't expect to be able to vote on Wednesday, began Nov. 1 and end Nov. 5 at 10 p.m. CT.
In the 2003 election, about 71 per cent of eligible voters went to the polls, well below the number of voters in 1991, when 83 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots. That year, the NDP under Roy Romanow crushed the Grant Devine-led Tories.
Wilkie said the nice weather could be a factor.
Another theory is that when there's a wind of change in the air, more voters are eager to cast ballots.
"There may be some truth to that," said Ernie Pappas, a longtime school board politician. "It also might be those who are in power trying to make sure that they stay there and making sure that they get all the votes that they possibly can."
Regular voting runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Saskatchewan Votes 2007 »
- Saskatchewan Party wins majority government
- Only 10 years into its existence as a political force, the Saskatchewan Party will form a majority government and its leader Brad Wall will be the new premier.
- NDP had a 'good run in government'
- A desire for change pushed the NDP out of 16 years of rule in Saskatchewan, but leader Lorne Calvert said the party has no regrets.
- Liberals fail again to elect single MLA
- The third time was not a charm for Liberal Leader David Karwacki, as voters in Saskatoon Meewasin rebuffed his efforts for elected office.
- Shift in urban vote handed seats to Sask. Party
- The seeds of victory were sown in Regina and Saskatoon, where the Saskatchewan Party picked up five seats — but there were gains in other urban areas, too, that helped seal the election win.
- NDP holds on in Regina, but loses 3 seats
- Fortress Regina continued to stand for the NDP when the dust of Wednesday's election had settled, though its foundation was shaken by a trio of Saskatchewan Party wins.
Constituency Profiles
More Saskatchewan Votes Headlines »
- Saskatchewan Party wins majority government
- Only 10 years into its existence as a political force, the Saskatchewan Party will form a majority government and its leader Brad Wall will be the new premier.
- NDP had a 'good run in government'
- A desire for change pushed the NDP out of 16 years of rule in Saskatchewan, but leader Lorne Calvert said the party has no regrets.
- Liberals fail again to elect single MLA
- The third time was not a charm for Liberal Leader David Karwacki, as voters in Saskatoon Meewasin rebuffed his efforts for elected office.
- Shift in urban vote handed seats to Sask. Party
- The seeds of victory were sown in Regina and Saskatoon, where the Saskatchewan Party picked up five seats — but there were gains in other urban areas, too, that helped seal the election win.
- NDP holds on in Regina, but loses 3 seats
- Fortress Regina continued to stand for the NDP when the dust of Wednesday's election had settled, though its foundation was shaken by a trio of Saskatchewan Party wins.
