Fair Elections Act (S.C. 2014, c. 12)
Full Document:
Assented to 2014-06-19
Marginal note:2007, c. 21, s. 31
55. Section 169.1 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Requirement before administering oath — elector
169.1 (1) If a person decides to prove his or her residence by taking an oath in writing in the prescribed form, the person who administers the oath shall, before doing so, orally advise the oath-taker of the qualifications for electors and the penalty that may be imposed under this Act on a person who contravenes subsection 169(4.1) or 549(3).
Marginal note:Requirement before administering oath — attesting to residence
(2) If a person decides to attest to an elector’s residence by taking an oath in writing in the prescribed form, the person who administers the oath shall, before doing so, orally advise the oath-taker of the penalty that may be imposed under this Act on a person who contravenes subsection 169(5) or (6) or 549(3).
56. Subsection 171(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:When advance polling stations to be open
(2) An advance polling station shall only be open between the hours of noon and 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the 10th, 9th, 8th and 7th days, respectively, before polling day.
Marginal note:2007, c. 21, s. 33
57. Paragraph 174(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) the elector fails to prove his or her identity and residence in accordance with section 143 or to take an oath otherwise required by this Act; or
58. (1) The portion of subsection 175(1) of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Examining and sealing of ballot box
175. (1) At the opening of an advance polling station at noon on each of the four days of advance polling, the deputy returning officer shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present,
(a) open the ballot box provided for that day and ascertain that it is empty;
(2) The portion of subsection 175(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Close of advance poll — each day
(2) At the close of an advance polling station at 8:00 p.m. on each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd days of advance polling, the deputy returning officer shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present,
(3) Subsection 175(2) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by replacing paragraph (e) with the following:
(e) place the envelopes referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) in the ballot box after the signatures have been made as described in subsection (4), and seal the ballot box; and
(f) after the signatures have been made as described in subsection (4), place the envelope referred to in paragraph (d) in a box provided by the Chief Electoral Officer and seal the box with a seal provided by the Chief Electoral Officer.
(4) Subsections 175(3) to (6) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Close of advance poll — last day
(3) At the close of an advance polling station at 8:00 p.m. on the 4th day of advance polling, the deputy returning officer shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present,
(a) unseal and open the ballot box;
(b) empty the ballots cast during that day, in a manner that does not disclose for whom any elector has voted, into the envelope supplied for the purpose, seal the envelope with the seal provided by the Chief Electoral Officer and indicate on it the number of ballots contained in it;
(c) count the spoiled ballots, place them in the envelope supplied for the purpose, seal the envelope and indicate on it the number of spoiled ballots contained in it;
(d) count the unused ballots and the number of electors who have voted at the advance polling station and place the unused ballots and a copy of the record of votes cast at the advance polling station in the envelope supplied for the purpose, seal the envelope with the seal provided by the Chief Electoral Officer and indicate on it the number of unused ballots contained in it and the number of electors who have voted; and
(e) place the envelopes referred to in paragraphs (b) to (d) in the ballot box after the signatures have been made as described in subsection (4), and seal the ballot box.
Marginal note:Affixing of signatures
(4) The deputy returning officer and poll clerk shall place their signatures on the seals affixed to the envelopes referred to in paragraphs (2)(b) to (d) and (3)(b) to (d). The candidates or their representatives who are present may also place their signatures on the seals.
Marginal note:Re-opening of advance poll
(5) At the re-opening of an advance polling station at noon on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days of advance polling, the deputy returning officer shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present,
(a) unseal and open the box referred to in paragraph (2)(f) that was used on the previous day of advance polling, take out and open the envelope that contains the unused ballots and the record of votes cast at the advance polling station and dispose of the box; and
(b) open, seal and place a new ballot box in accordance with paragraphs (1)(a) to (c).
Marginal note:Custody of ballot box
(6) In the intervals between voting hours at the advance polling station and until the counting of the ballots on polling day, the deputy returning officer shall keep the sealed ballot boxes in his or her custody.
Marginal note:Recovery of ballot box
(7) Despite subsection (6), the returning officer may recover any ballot box that is in a deputy returning officer’s custody if the Chief Electoral Officer, being of the opinion that such action is necessary to ensure the integrity of the vote, directs the returning officer to do so.
Marginal note:Candidates may check seals
(8) When an advance polling station closes on each of the four days of advance polling, the candidates or their representatives may take note of the serial number of the seal on the ballot box, and on the box referred to in paragraph (2)(f) that is used on that day, if any. When the advance polling station is re-opened on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days of advance polling, they may again take note of the serial number of the seal on the box referred to in paragraph (2)(f) that was used on the previous day of voting. When the votes are counted on polling day, they may take note of the serial number of the seal on each of the ballot boxes used for advance polling.
59. Subsection 233(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Information provided
(3) An elector who makes an application for registration and special ballot shall indicate whether his or her name is already on a list of electors.
60. Section 237 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Provision of ballot
237. Subject to section 237.1, on acceptance of an elector’s application for registration and special ballot, the elector shall be given a special ballot, or, if section 241 applies, a ballot, an inner envelope and an outer envelope.
Marginal note:Proof of identity and residence
237.1 (1) If an elector goes to the office of a returning officer to receive his or her ballot or special ballot, then before receiving it the elector shall prove his or her identity and residence in accordance with section 143.
Marginal note:Presence of candidate or representative
(2) A candidate or their representative may be present at the office when the elector
(a) receives the ballot;
(b) places the folded ballot in the inner envelope and seals it; and
(c) places the inner envelope in the outer envelope and seals it.
Marginal note:Examination of identification documents
(3) The candidate or representative may examine but not handle any piece of identification provided by the elector.
Marginal note:Prohibition — attesting to residence of more than one elector
(3.1) No elector shall attest to the residence of more than one elector at an election.
Marginal note:Prohibition — attesting to residence (own residence attested to)
(3.2) No elector whose own residence has been attested to at an election shall attest to another elector’s residence at that election.
Marginal note:Application of provisions
(4) For the purposes of this section, the following provisions apply with any necessary modifications in respect of the location in the returning officer’s office where the elector receives his or her ballot or special ballot as though that location were a polling station:
(a) sections 135 to 137;
(b) sections 143 and 144;
(c) subsection 164(1);
(d) section 166; and
(e) paragraph 489(3)(c).
61. (1) Subsection 283(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Counting the votes
283. (1) Immediately after the close of a polling station, the deputy returning officer shall count the votes in the presence of the poll clerk, any person appointed under section 32.1 whose duties include being present at the count and any candidates or their representatives who are present or, if no candidates or representatives are present, at least two electors.
(2) Paragraph 283(3)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) count the number of electors who voted at the polling station, count the number of those to whom a certificate was given under subsection 161(4), make an entry at the end of the list of electors that states “The number of electors who voted at this election in this polling station is (stating the number). Of these, the number of electors to whom a certificate was given under subsection 161(4) is (stating the number).”, sign the list and place the list in the envelope supplied for that purpose;
(3) Paragraph 283(3)(d) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(d) total the number of electors indicated under paragraph (a) who voted at the polling station and the numbers arrived at in paragraphs (b) and (c) in order to ascertain that all ballots that were provided by the returning officer are accounted for;
- Date modified: