The deadline to submit ballots in the Conservative party leadership race to be has passed. The winner might be found out on Sunday night.
Here are five things to think about how another pioneer will be looked over among the four candidates competing to supplant active pioneer Andrew Scheer.
Qualified voters
The party says 269,469 are qualified to vote in the Conservative leadership. As of early afternoon Friday, more than 165,000 ballots had been received, which is more than was projected altogether during the 2017 leadership race.
Mail-in ballots
The party has consistently used a mail-in ballot. The necessity is in its constitution. In the 2017 vote, around 90 per cent of ballots were submitted this way, and the remainder were cast in person at the convention. This time, it is 100 per cent via mail because of social distancing requirements in place for COVID-19.
Points system
While it’s one vote per member, the winner isn’t chosen based on those totals. Instead, each of the 338 federal ridings in Canada are allocated 100 points. How many points each candidate gets is determined by what percentage of the vote they get in a given riding. To win, a candidate will need 16,901 points.
Multiple choice
It’s a ranked ballot. Party members can choose up to four people they’d like to see as a leader, ranking them from first to last. But even if they only choose one, that ballot will still be counted.
Rounds of results
Second, third and fourth choices matter. Ranked ballots are counted in rounds. If no candidates receive the majority of points in the first round, the person with the lowest number of points is removed from the ballot. Those who voted for that person will now have their ballots counted again, this time with their second choice being included in the tally. The process continues until a winner is selected.
Photo credit: Photos Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
News source: The Canadian Press
