Elections Modernization Act (S.C. 2018, c. 31)
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Assented to 2018-12-13
2000, c. 9Canada Elections Act (continued)
3 Sections 3 to 5 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Persons qualified as electors
3 Every person who is a Canadian citizen and who on polling day is 18 years of age or older is qualified as an elector.
4 Section 7 of the Act is repealed.
5 Section 8 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Marginal note:Person residing outside Canada
(2.1) The place of ordinary residence of a person who resides outside Canada is their last place of ordinary residence in Canada.
6 (1) The portion of section 10 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Former member candidates and electors living with them
10 (1) Each candidate at a general election who, on the day before the dissolution of Parliament immediately before the election, was a member, and any elector living with the candidate on that day who would move, or has moved, with the candidate to continue to live with the candidate, is entitled to have his or her name entered on the list of electors for, and to vote at the polling station to which is assigned, the polling division in which is located
(2) Subsection 10(1) is amended by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (a), by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (c) and by repealing paragraphs (b) and (d).
(3) Section 10 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Marginal note:Former member candidates and electors living with them — notice to returning officer
(2) If a candidate or elector referred to in subsection (1) provides notice to the returning officer, at least two days before polling day, of his or her intention to vote at the polling station, the candidate or elector is entitled to have his or her name entered on the list of electors for, and to vote at the polling station to which is assigned, any polling division in
Marginal note:2003, c. 22, s. 100
7 Section 11 of the Act is repealed.
8 Subsection 15(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Rank, powers and duties
15 (1) Subject to subsections 509.1(2) and (3), the Chief Electoral Officer shall rank as and have all the powers of a deputy head of a department, shall perform the duties of the office on a full-time basis and shall not hold any other office under Her Majesty or engage in any other employment.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 5
9 (1) Subsection 16.1(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Consultations
(3) Before issuing a guideline or interpretation note, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide a copy of the proposed guideline or interpretation note to the Commissioner and to the members of the Advisory Committee of Political Parties established by subsection 21.1(1). The Commissioner and those members may provide their written comments to the Chief Electoral Officer within 45 days after the day on which the copy is sent.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 5
(2) Subsections 16.1(5) to (7) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Issuance
(7) The Chief Electoral Officer shall issue the guideline or interpretation note by registering it in the registry referred to in section 16.4 as soon as possible after preparing it.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 5
10 (1) Subsection 16.2(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Consultations
(2) Before issuing an opinion, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide a copy of the proposed opinion to the Commissioner and to the members of the Advisory Committee of Political Parties established by subsection 21.1(1). The Commissioner and those members may provide their written comments to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days after the day on which the copy is sent.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 5
(2) Subsection 16.2(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Pre-publication
(4) Within 90 days after the day on which the application is made, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish on his or her Internet site for a period of 30 days the opinion as well as a notice stating that the opinion will be issued at the expiry of that period. However, if the 90-day period coincides or overlaps with the election period of a general election, the opinion and the notice shall be published no later than 90 days after polling day for that election.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 5
11 Section 16.3 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:New interpretation
16.3 If an opinion that is published under subsection 16.2(4) interprets a provision of the Act in a way that contradicts an interpretation of that provision provided in a previously issued opinion, the new interpretation does not replace the former interpretation until the date that the new opinion is issued under section 16.2.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 5.1
12 Subsection 16.5(1) of the Act is repealed.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 7
13 Section 17.1 of the Act is repealed.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 7
14 Subsections 18(1) to (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Public education and information programs
18 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may implement public education and information programs to make the electoral process better known to the public, particularly to those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights.
Marginal note:Communication with public
(1.1) The Chief Electoral Officer may, using any media or other means that he or she considers appropriate, provide the public, both inside and outside Canada, with information relating to Canada’s electoral process and the democratic rights to vote and to be a candidate.
Marginal note:Information outside Canada
(1.2) The Chief Electoral Officer may establish programs to disseminate information outside Canada concerning how to vote under Part 11.
Marginal note:Communication with electors with a disability
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall ensure that any information on the following that is provided under subsections (1) to (1.2) in an advertising message is accessible to electors with a disability:
(a) how to become a candidate;
(b) how an elector may have their name added to a list of electors and may have corrections made to information respecting them on the list;
(c) how an elector may vote under section 127 and the times, dates and locations for voting;
(d) how an elector may prove their identity and residence in order to vote, including the pieces of identification that they may use to that end; and
(e) the measures for assisting electors with a disability to access a polling station or advance polling station or to mark a ballot.
Marginal note:Communication with future electors with a disability
(2.1) If the Chief Electoral Officer provides, in an advertising message, any information under subsections (1) and (1.1) on how a future elector may have their name added to the Register of Future Electors and may have corrections made to information respecting them in that register, the Chief Electoral Officer shall ensure that the information is accessible to future electors with a disability.
Marginal note:2014, c. 12, s. 8
15 Sections 18.01 and 18.1 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:International cooperation
18.01 The Chief Electoral Officer may provide assistance and cooperation in electoral matters to electoral agencies in other countries or to international organizations.
Marginal note:Voting studies
18.1 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may carry out studies on voting, including studies respecting alternative voting means.
Marginal note:Alternative voting
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may devise and test an alternative voting process for future use in an election.
Marginal note:Voting technology — electors with a disability
(3) The Chief Electoral Officer shall develop, obtain or adapt voting technology for use by electors with a disability, and may test the technology for future use in an election.
Marginal note:Prior approval
(4) Neither an alternative voting process nor voting technology tested under subsection (2) or (3) may be used in an election without the prior approval of the committees of the Senate and of the House of Commons that normally consider electoral matters.
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