The interruption in Newfoundland and Labrador’s election amid a COVID-19 surge has raised concerns about the implications for the democratic process and possible impact on voter turnout. “If the voter turnout is exceptionally low as a result of the pandemic, then democracy isn’t served,” says Chris Collins, a former New Brunswick politician and a principal with Aurora Strategy Group in Atlantic Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief electoral officer cancelled in-person voting the night before the in-person polls were set to open on Feb. 13 as public health officials introduced provincewide lockdown measures. The province is now relying exclusively on mail-in ballots. The NDP and Progressive Conservatives have been trying to hold an all-party meeting with chief electoral officer Bruce Chaulk to discuss the complexities of a mail-in vote, but they say so far their request has been denied. The governing Liberals have said there’s concern that a closed-door meeting with …