Election Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016 Naqvi, Hon. Yasir Attorney General — Bill 45 (41st Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 45, 41-2

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 45, Election Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016

Naqvi, Hon. Yasir Attorney General

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As Amended by Standing Committee

Royal Assent

[41] Bill 45 Royal Assent (PDF)

Bill 45 2016

An Act to amend

certain Acts with respect to provincial elections

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Election Act

1. Subsection

4 (7) of the Election Act is amended by striking

out "the Chief Electoral Officer shall immediately give notice of any such

direction to the candidates affected" at the end and substituting "the Chief

Electoral Officer shall immediately give notice of any such direction to the

candidates affected and to the registered parties, if any, of the candidates".

2. The

Act is amended by adding the following section:

Authority

to share equipment and resources

4.0.3

(1) The

Chief Electoral Officer may make equipment, advice, staff, or other resources

available to other electoral authorities in Canada.

Same

(2) Any revenue derived from such

activities shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(1) Subsection

4.1 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "vote-counting equipment".

(2) Subsection 4.1 (2) of the Act is

amended by striking out "vote-counting equipment".

(3) Subsection 4.1 (5) of the Act is

amended by striking out "vote-counting equipment" wherever it appears.

4. Subsection

4.2 (2) of the Act is amended by adding the following paragraph:

2.1 Subsections

17.7 (2) and (3).

5. The

Act is amended by adding the following sections:

Use of

vote counting equipment

4.5

(1) The

Chief Electoral Officer may issue a direction requiring the use of vote

counting equipment during an election and modifying the voting process

established by this Act to permit the use of the equipment.

Same

(2) Subsections 4.4 (5) to (11) apply, with

necessary modifications, with respect to a direction issued under this section.

Restrictions re

equipment

(3) The following restrictions apply with

respect to the use of vote counting equipment:

1. The

equipment must not be part of or connected to an electronic network, except

that the equipment may be securely connected to a network after the polls

close, for the purpose of transmitting information to the Chief Electoral

Officer.

2. The

equipment must be tested,

i. before

the first elector uses the equipment to vote, and

ii. after

the last elector uses the equipment to vote.

3. For

the purpose of paragraph 2, testing includes, without limitation, logic and

accuracy testing.

4. The

equipment must not be used in a way that enables the choice of an elector to

be made known to an election official or scrutineer.

Accessible voting

equipment

(4) This

section does not apply with

respect to vote counting equipment required by

section 44.1 (accessible voting

equipment, etc.)

Opting out

of receiving information

4.6

(1) Despite

any other provision in this Act, a returning officer and the Chief Electoral

Officer are not required to provide copies of polling lists, the permanent

register of electors, extracts of or updates to the permanent register of

electors, or any other elector information to a candidate or registered party

that has indicated that it does not wish to receive this information.

Application

(2) This

section and sections 4.7 and 4.8

apply on and after July 1, 2017.

Redaction of

information

4.7 Despite

any requirement in this Act that the Chief Electoral Officer or a returning

officer provide information about an elector, the Chief Electoral Officer may,

on the request of the elector, redact any information that the Chief Electoral

Officer reasonably believes would, if made available, endanger the life, health

or security of the elector.

Restrictions on

information

4.8 Where,

under this Act, a returning officer or the Chief Electoral Officer are required

to provide copies of polling lists, the permanent register of electors,

extracts of or updates to the permanent register of electors, or any other

elector information to a candidate or registered party, they shall not provide

any information about electors other than the following, unless this Act

specifically provided otherwise:

1. The

names and unique identifiers of the electors.

2. The

mailing addresses and permanent addresses of the electors.

6. Subsection

6 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "subsection (1)" and substituting

"subsection (1.1)".

7. Subsection

9 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

First Thursday in

June

(2) Subject to the powers of the Lieutenant

Governor referred to in subsection (1), general elections shall be held on the

first Thursday in June in the fourth calendar year following polling day in the

most recent general election.

8. Subsection

9.1 (8) of the Act is amended by striking out "August 1" and substituting

"February 1".

Section

9.2 of the Act is repealed.

10. Subsection

13 (4.1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Same

(4.1) A municipality, school board or

provincially funded institution that makes premises available under subsection

(4) shall provide premises that are acceptable to the returning officer, and

shall do so free of charge.

Section

17.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Contents

(1.1) The permanent register must contain,

for each elector, a unique identifier that is assigned by the Chief Electoral Officer.

12. Subsection

17.1.1 (2) of the Act is repealed.

13. Subsection

17.6 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Disclosure of policy

to Chief Electoral Officer

(2) The party shall disclose the policy to

the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Chief Electoral Officer shall not provide

a copy of the permanent register or part of the permanent register,

(

a) to

a party that has not disclosed the policy or that has disclosed a policy that

does not comply with the guidelines published under

section 17.5; or

(

b) to

the candidates or members of the Assembly of such a party.

14. The

Act is amended by adding the following

section immediately before the heading

"Representative Bodies of Electors":

Provisional Register of 16 and 17 Year Olds

Provisional register

17.7

(1) The

Chief Electoral Officer shall establish and maintain a provisional register of

persons who are 16 or 17 years of age, are Canadian citizens and who reside in

Ontario.

Registration

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall

include in the provisional register only those persons who have requested in

writing or in another format acceptable to the Chief Electoral Officer, that

they be included, and have provided proof of identity in accordance with

section 4.2.

Removal from register

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer shall

remove from the provisional register a person who has requested, in writing or

in another format acceptable to the Chief Electoral Officer, that the person be

removed, and has provided proof of identity in accordance with

section 4.2.

Must make request

oneself

(4) For greater certainty, a person may not

make a request under subsection (2) or (3) on behalf of another person.

Transfer to permanent

register

(5) When a person in the provisional

register reaches 18 years of age, or when the Chief Electoral Officer is aware

that the person will be 18 during the period that begins when a writ of

election is issued and ends on polling day, the Chief Electoral Officer shall

transfer the information about the person from the provisional register to the

permanent register of electors.

Other uses

(6) The Chief Electoral Officer may use the

information in the provisional register for the purposes of sections 114.1 (public

education and information) and 114.2 (information packages for new electors).

Section

17.13 of the Act is repealed.

(1) Section

19 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Copy to registered

parties

(2.1) At the time of providing a list under

subsection (1) or (2), the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide a copy of the

list to each registered party.

(2) Clause 19 (3) (

c) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

(

c) one

electronic version of the list to be furnished to each candidate in the

electoral district, and a printed copy to be furnished on the request of the candidate.

17. Subsection

21 (9) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

List of

persons issued certificate

(9) Upon

the request of a candidate, the returning officer shall give the candidate a

list of the persons to whom a certificate to vote has been issued up to the

time the request is made, and upon the request of a registered party, the Chief

Electoral Officer shall give such a list to the party.

Section

25 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Sharing of

list

(3) The

returning officer shall provide a copy of the official polling list to each

candidate in the electoral district in which the polling division is located,

and the Chief Electoral Officer shall supply a copy of the official polling

list to the registered party, if any, of the candidates.

Section

27 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Nominations

Nomination

in one electoral district

(1) A

candidate may be nominated in one electoral district only.

Candidate's

nomination paper

(2) Each

candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper which shall

include,

(

a) the electoral district for

which the prospective candidate is being nominated;

(

b) the full legal name of the prospective

candidate;

(

c) the ordinary name of the prospective

candidate, whether surname, given name or both, if this is different from the

full legal name and the prospective candidate wishes to have his or her ordinary

name on the ballot instead;

(

d) the residential address of the prospective

candidate;

(

e) if applicable, the name of the

registered party that the prospective candidate is nominated to represent;

(

f) the names and residential

addresses of at least 25 electors of the electoral district;

(

g) a signed declaration of each of

the electors mentioned in clause (f) (who may provide such a declaration for

more than one prospective candidate) that he or she is qualified as an elector

for the electoral district for which the election is being held;

(

h) if applicable, an instrument in

writing, signed by the leader of a party that is registered or has applied for

registration with the Chief Electoral Officer under the Election

Finances Act , that states that the prospective candidate is endorsed by

the party;

(

i) if the prospective candidate is

nominated as an independent candidate and wishes to have that status indicated

on the ballot, a statement requesting this;

(

j) a signed statement of the prospective

candidate that he or she is qualified to be nominated;

(

k) in the case of a prospective

candidate making a request under clause (c), a signed statement of the

individual that the name requested to be used on the ballot is his or her ordinary

name;

(

l) the appointment of an

individual as a chief financial officer and the signed consent of the individual

to act, which shall be deemed to be sufficient compliance with subsection 33

(2) of the Election Finances Act ;

(

m) the appointment of an individual

as an auditor, and the auditor's name and address, which shall be deemed to be

sufficient compliance with subsection 40 (1) of the Election

Finances Act ; and

(

n) a statement signed by the prospective

candidate of an address at which documents will be accepted for delivery to or

service on the candidate and a telephone number at which the individual can be contacted.

Nomination

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 45, 41-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s2 bill 45 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	8da2938e81459d9fe30ed7520790adf7aafb8bc7

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