ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- The deadline to submit ballots in the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial election has been extended by one week.
Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk says the new deadline calls for mail-in ballots to be postmarked no later than Friday, March 12.
Chaulk says in a release that there has been a big demand for the mail-in ballots -- more than 110,000 thousand requests so far, some for multiple ballots from households.
He also says there are concerns about delivery delays due to bad weather.
On Feb. 12, the election was upended due to concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak in the St. John's area.
At the time, Chaulk cancelled all in-person voting, which was set to begin the next morning in much of the province, and a deadline for mail-in ballots was later extended to March 5.
"Approximately 24,000 voting kits have been mailed out to date," Chaulk said in the release late Friday. "We ask the electorate to be patient with us as we work hard to get the remaining kits mailed out this week.
"Any ballots postmarked after Friday, March 12, will be rejected."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2021.
