Difference between revisions of "The Right to Vote (5:VII)"

The rules and regulations governing federal elections are set out in the Canada Elections Act, RSC 2000, c 9, and its subsequent  amendments. Many of these rules and regulations are similar to those applicable to BC provincial elections discussed above. A brief survey of  the federal Act is included below.  

Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older on election day are generally eligible to vote in federal elections (s 3). Under the  statute, persons can be disqualified from voting for a variety of reasons (e.g., for incarceration or for corrupt or illegal practices).  

However, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the prohibition preventing inmates from voting inSauve v Canada (Chief Electoral Officer), 2002 SCC 68. A key consideration in this decision was that, by denying the vote to all prisoners, the Act failed to balance the right to vote against the seriousness of the conduct of prisoners. The Federal Court of Canada has held that people with mental disabilities do have the right to vote: see Canadian Disability Rights CouncilvCanada, [1988] 3 FC 622.  

While federal residency requirements do exist, they are more relaxed than those applicable to BC provincial elections. A person may vote only  once, in the area in which she is “ordinarily resident”. This is defined in much the same way as “resident” is defined in section 32 of BC’ s Election Act. A person who moves between the enumerator’ s visit and the day of the election could be forced to vote in the former riding if ordinarily resident there when the enumeration occurred. All voters must present one piece of government-issued ID with a photograph and residential address before being allowed to vote. If a voter cannot provide the required photo ID,  he or she may still be allowed to vote if he or she does one of two things (s 143): 1.provides  two  pieces  of  acceptable  identification  to  establish  the  voter’ s  identity,  at  least  one  of which establishes the voter’ s residence (a list of “acceptable identification” is to be published by the Chief Electoral Officer); or  2.provides  two  pieces  of identification  that  establishers the voter’ s  name,  and  then establishes  his or  her  residence  by  swearing  an  oath  in  writing  that  attests  to  where  they  live. The  voter  must also be accompanied by an individual who is registered to vote in the same polling division, has proper  identification,  and  vouches  for  the  person  without  ID  under  oath  and  in  the  prescribed form.  An  individual  can  only  vouch  for  one  person  at  an election,  and  an  individual  who  has been vouched for cannot vouch for someone else.  These requirements pose significant challenges to low-income individuals who may have no form of official identification. Further difficulties are created by the rule that an individual may only vouch for one other individual and the requirement that the voucher live and be on the elector’ s list in the same polling station as the intended vouchee. The constitutionality of these requirements was challenged in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Henry v Canada (Attorney General), 2010 BCSC 610. In that case, the court found that the legislation was inconsistent with the electoral rights guaranteed in section 3 of the Charter, but constituted a reasonable limit prescribed by law and was demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society under section 1 of the Charter. The provisions relating to vouching, as described above, were brought into force by the Fair Elections Act on December 2014. Under the new provisions, voters who have identification but cannot prove residence  will  be  allowed  to  sign  an  oath  attesting  to  where  they  live,  which  must  then  be corroborated  by  the  oath  of  another  voter.  However,  this leaves  voters  who  have  no  identification whatsoever  with  little  recourse.  This  controversial  measure  could  significantly  inhibit  the  ability  of low-income citizens and students to vote. Consequently, in June 2014, the Council of Canadians and the  Canadian  Federation  of  Students  announced  their  intention  to  challenge  this  legislation  in  the Ontario Superior Court on the grounds that it violates section 3 of the Charter. Many other provisions of the Canada Elections Act, such as an employee being entitled to receive time off  work  to  cast  a  ballot,  provisions  for  people  with  disabilities,  and  balloting  procedures  are  very similar  to BC  provincial  regulations  and  thus  are  not  repeated  here. Further inquiries can  be  sent  to Marc Mayrand, the current Chief Electoral Officer, at: Elections Canada Chief Electoral Officer 257 Slater Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A OM6 Telephone: 1-800-463-6868 Website: www.elections.ca Note: Canada's federal election laws were recently overhauled by the controversial Fair Elections Act, which  received  royal  assent  in  June  2014.  Most  provisions  of  the Fair  Elections  Act have  come  into force.  A  number  of  sections  will  come  into  force  by  an  order  by  the  Governor  in  Council  or  on dissolution  of  Parliament,  the  latter  of  which  will  occur  at  some  point  prior  to  the  2015  Federal Election. Major  changes  to  the Canada  Election  Act  include  provisions  intended  to  increase  penalties  for offences,  reduce  voter  fraud,  and  empower  political  parties  to  drive  voter  turnout.  Specific  changes include  removing  vouching  in  favour  of  an  oath  system  where  a  voter  has  identification  but  cannot prove  current  residence;  moving  investigations  from  Elections  Canada  to  the  Director  of  Public

5-33Prosecutions; limiting the powers of Elections Canada; increasing donation limits; adding constraints on robocalls; and some changes to third-party advertising.  There has been considerable controversy surrounding theFair Elections Act. Depending on the results of the 2015 federal election, there may be significant changes to some or all of the CEA provisions in the near future.  In  June  2014,  the  Council  of  Canadians  and  the  Canadian  Federation  of  Students  announced  their intention  to  challenge  this  legislation  in  the  Ontario  Superior  Court  on  the  grounds  that  it  violates section 3 of the Charter. E.Municipal Elections Municipal election procedures are outlined in the Local Government Act, RSBC 1996, c 323, beginning at section 33. Please note, however, that elections in the City of Vancouver are governed by a separate provincial act, the Vancouver Charter, SBC 1953, c 55. To be eligible to vote, a person must normally be a Canadian citizen and 18 years of age or older on the day the election is held. A person thus qualified must be a Canadian citizen and a resident of BC for  six  months  immediately  before  election  day.  Furthermore,  to  be  qualified,  the  person  must  have been a resident of the jurisdiction (as per s 50) for at least 30 days immediately before election day. A  person  who  qualifies  as  outlined  above  with  the  exception  that  he  or  she  does  not  reside  in  the municipality  may  still  vote  in  an  election  if  he  or  she  is  the  owner  or  tenant  of  property  in  that municipality (s 51). The general residency rules are similar to those outlined in the BC Election Act. Applications to register should be made to the clerk of the municipality. Voters who are not yet registered on election day may apply to have their name added to the list on election day in a manner similar to that used in provincial elections (see ss 57-57.1). A person who is unable to produce identification can be registered as a voter. In order to do so, the individual  must  complete  an  application  for  registration and  be  accompanied  by  someone  who  is  a registered voter in the applicant’ s electoral district, an adult family member, or someone who has the authority to make personal care decisions in respect of the applicant. The applicant and the voucher must both make a solemn declaration, in writing, as to the applicant's identity and place of residence. A person can only vouch for one person, and an individual who has been vouched for cannot vouch for another person. NOTE:              A  literal  interpretation  of  both  the Canada  Elections  Act  RSC 2000,  c  9,  and  the  BC Election Act, RSBC  1996,  c  106,  suggests  that  it  is  practically  impossible  for  a  homeless  person  to vote. However, the provincial electoral officer facilitates voting by homeless people through an administrative policy of allowing a flexible definition of “residence”.  

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