Second

Session, 48th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2017

BILL 14

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

ELECTIONS ACT, 1991

Received and Read the First Time . ............... ..... ............... ...................

October 17, 2017

Second Reading .......... .................... .. ..... ................................................. October 19, 2017

Committee ............... ........................................ .. Amendments

1 ,

2 ,

3 , - October 19, 2017

Third Reading ........................... .............................................................. October 19, 2017

Royal Assent ......................................................................................... October

20, 2017

HONORABLE

ANDREW PARSONS ,

Government

House Leader

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Elections Act, 1991 to modify the special

ballot voting process.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ELECTIONS ACT, 1991

Analysis

S.58 Amdt.

Polling day

S.59 R&S

Nomination

day

Ss. 86 to 86.10 R&S

Application for special ballot

86.1

Special Ballot Administrator appointed

86.2

Additional information

86.3

Approval of application

86.4 Casting of vote

86.5

Appointment of representative

86.6

Counting of ballots

86.7 Transmittal of results

86.8

Name of electors

86.9

Administrative procedures

86.10

Special ballots

S.226.1 Amdt.

Campaign

advertising

S.226.2 Amdt.

Rates

for advertising

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL1992 cE-3.1

as amended

1. Subsection 58(1) of the Elections Act, 1991 is repealed and the following substituted:

Polling day

58 .

(1) The day of polling to be fixed by the

proclamation required under

section 57 shall be a day not less than 28 clear

days from the date of the proclamation nor more than 35 clear days .

Section 59 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Nomination day

59. The

day to be appointed by the proclamation required under

section 57 for the close

of nominations of candidates shall be the eighth

day after the date of the proclamation.

3. Sections 86 to 86.10 of the Act are repealed

and the following substituted:

Application for special

ballot

(1) An

elector who is qualified to vote at an election and who has reason to believe

that he or she will have difficulty voting at an advance poll or at the poll on

polling day may apply to vote by special ballot.

(2) A person who is detained in a penitentiary or

jail in the province or who is in detention at the Waterford Hospital

may vote only by special ballot.

(3) An application to vote by special ballot may

be made by those methods that are acceptable to the Chief Electoral Officer.

(4) An application to vote by special ballot may

be made to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer beginning not more than 4

weeks before the issue of the writ of election and ending at 6:00 p.m. on a day

to be determined by the Chief Electoral Officer.

(5) An application to vote by special ballot shall

contain the information that the Chief Electoral Officer may require, including

(

a) the name of the applicant and the address of

the applicant's residence in the province;

(

b) proof of the applicant's identity by reference

to documents of a class determined by the Chief Electoral Officer; and

(

c) the applicant's mailing address.

(6) A person who knowingly makes a false statement

in an application under this

section is guilty of an offence.

(7) Section 91 and subsections 92(2) and (3) shall

not apply to a special ballot.

Special Ballot

Administrator appointed

86.1

(1) The

Chief Electoral Officer shall appoint a Special Ballot Administrator.

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall assign the

duties of the Special Ballot Administrator and shall fix his or her

remuneration on a scale approved by the House of Assembly Management Commission

continued under

section 18 of the House

of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act .

(3) The Special Ballot Administrator is

responsible to the Chief Electoral Officer for his or her actions.

(4) The Special Ballot Administrator shall, before

taking up office, swear an oath in the prescribed form.

(5) Where the Special Ballot Administrator dies,

becomes disqualified or incapable of acting or refuses to act, or is removed

from office for another reason, the Chief Electoral Officer shall at once

appoint a substitute, who, before taking up his or her appointment, shall swear

an oath in the prescribed form.

Additional

information

86.2 The

Special Ballot Administrator or his or her designate may, where an application

for a special ballot does not contain all the information required by

subsection 86(5), require an applicant to provide the additional information

requested.

Approval of

application

86.3

(1) On

receipt of an application under

section 86, the Special Ballot Administrator or

his or her designate shall

(

a) ensure that the applicant's name is on the

list of electors for the polling division in which he or she would otherwise

vote;

(

b) if the application is in order, issue a

special ballot kit to the applicant after the close of nominations; and

(

c) cross out the name of the applicant as it

appears on the list, noting in the margin "special ballot issued".

(2) Where an application is received from a person

whose name does not appear on the list of electors for the polling division in

which he or she resides, the Special Ballot Administrator or his or her

designate shall, if satisfied that the person is qualified to vote,

(

a) add the person's name to the list of electors;

(

b) if the application is in order, issue a

special ballot kit to the applicant after the close of nominations; and

(

c) cross the person's name off the list and note

in the margin "special ballot issued".

(3) Once an elector's application to vote by

special ballot has been accepted, a special ballot kit shall be issued to the

elector after the close of nominations.

(4) An elector who is issued a special ballot kit

may only vote by special ballot.

Casting of vote

86.4

(1) On

receipt of the special ballot kit, the elector shall mark the ballot

by forming the letter "X" with a pen or pencil of any colour within

the space on the ballot containing the name and particulars of the candidate

for whom he or she intends to vote.

(1.1) Where a special

ballot does not list the name and particulars of each candidate, the special

ballot kit shall include a document with the name and particulars of each

candidate.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where the

special ballot does not list the name and particulars of each candidate, the

elector shall mark the ballot by printing with a pen or pencil of any colour,

in the space provided, the name of the candidate, or the name of the candidate

and the name of the political party of the candidate.

(3) After marking the ballot, the elector shall

(

a) place the marked ballot in the ballot

envelope;

(

b) seal the ballot envelope;

(

c) place the sealed ballot envelope in the

declaration envelope;

(

d) complete and sign the declaration;

(

e) place the sealed declaration envelope in the

return envelope; and

(

f) seal the return envelope.

(4) The return envelope, when sealed, shall be

forwarded to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer so that it reaches the

office before a time on a day prior to polling day to be determined by the

Chief Electoral Officer.

(5) A special ballot kit shall be distributed to

an elector by an election official only.

(6) A special ballot kit shall be returned to the

Chief Electoral Officer by the elector or an election official only.

(7) Where a voter requires assistance in the

completion of his or her special ballot, that assistance shall be provided by

an election official only.

Appointment of representative

86.5

(1) The

leaders of registered political parties having membership in the House of

Assembly at the time the writ is issued shall each designate a representative,

to act as scrutineer, who may be present during the verification of the

declaration envelopes referred to in subsection 86.6(2) and during each stage

of the procedure for the counting of the special ballots.

(2) The representatives designated under

subsection (1) shall swear an oath or make an affirmation in the prescribed

form to keep secret the results of the voting by special ballot.

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer may appoint those

special ballot officers the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary to

assist the Special Ballot Administrator.

(4) The special ballot officers appointed under

subsection (3) shall swear an oath or make an affirmation in the prescribed

form to keep secret the results of the voting by special ballot.

Counting of

ballots

86.6

(1) Where

a return envelope is received in the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer it

shall be opened by the Special Ballot Administrator or his or her designate and

the declaration envelope shall be removed from the return envelope and

deposited in a sealed ballot box for the respective electoral district.

(2) Notwithstanding

section 216, at a time and on

a day before polling day to be determined by the Chief Electoral Officer, the

declaration envelopes shall be removed from the ballot box by the Special

Ballot Administrator or a special ballot officer in the presence of the persons

designated under

section 86.5 or, where they are not available, in the presence

of 2 other witnesses.

(3) The Special Ballot Administrator or a special

ballot officer shall examine the declaration envelope and determine

(

a) whether the name on the declaration envelope

is the same as that crossed out on the list of electors under

section 86.3; and

(

b) that the declaration has been completed and

properly signed.

(4) Where the Special Ballot Administrator or a

special ballot officer confirms that the declaration has been properly

completed and the elector has signed the declaration envelope he or she shall

(

a) open the declaration envelope and remove the

sealed ballot envelope; and

(

b) place the sealed ballot envelope in a sealed

ballot box for the appropriate electoral district, marked "Special

Ballot".

(5) Where the Special Ballot Administrator or a

special ballot officer determines that a declaration has not been completed or

the elector has failed to sign the declaration envelope, he or she shall

(

a) write "rejected" on the envelope and

the reason for its rejection; and

(

b) set aside the envelope unopened.

(6) Notwithstanding

section 216, on the day

referred to in subsection (2) or at a time on another day before polling day to

be determined by the Chief Electoral Officer, the Special Ballot Administrator

or a special ballot officer, in the presence of the persons designated under

section 86.5 to act as scrutineers, or 2 other witnesses, where the scrutineers

are not available, shall open the ballot boxes, open the sealed ballot

envelopes and proceed to count the votes.

(7) The counting of the votes shall continue

without interruption until completed.

(8) A ballot that

(

a) is not marked in favour of a candidate or a

candidate and a political party;

(

b) is marked in favour of more than one candidate

or more than one candidate and political party;

(

c) is marked in favour of a candidate and a

political party which are not affiliated with each other; or

(

d) is marked in a way that identifies the

elector,

shall be rejected.

(9) A ballot shall not be rejected for the sole

reason that the elector has incorrectly written the name of a candidate or

political party, if the ballot clearly indicates the elector's intent.

Transmittal of

results

86.7 After

the close of polls on polling day, the Chief Electoral Officer or the Special

Ballot Administrator shall communicate the results of the voting to the

appropriate returning officers who shall include them in the vote totals of the

candidates for whom they were cast.

Name of electors

86.8 The

Chief Electoral Officer or the Special Ballot Administrator shall, on request,

make available to a candidate in an electoral district or his or her official

agent the names and addresses of the ordinary residences of those electors in

the electoral district who have applied for and been provided with a special

ballot kit.

Administrative

procedures

86.9 The

Chief Electoral Officer may establish those administrative procedures he or she

considers necessary to give effect to sections 86 to 86.8.

Special ballots

86.10 The

provisions of Division E relating to ordinary polls shall apply, with the

necessary changes, to special ballots.

4. Subsection 226.1(1) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

Campaign

advertising

226.1

(1) A

registered party or candidate, and a person, corporation or trade union acting

with its or his or her knowledge and consent shall not, on polling day or the

day before polling day,

(

a) advertise on the facilities of a broadcasting

undertaking; or

(

b) procure for publication, publish or consent to

the publication of, except during that period, an advertisement in a newspaper,

magazine or other periodical publication,

for the purpose of promoting or opposing a

political party or the election of a candidate.

5. Paragraph 226.2(1)(

a) of the Act is repealed

and the following substituted:

Rates for

advertising

226.2

(1) A

person, corporation or trade union shall not

(

a) charge a registered party or candidate, or a

person acting with its or his or her knowledge and consent, a rate for

broadcasting time on a broadcasting undertaking, during the period after the

issue of a writ for an election and ending the day immediately preceding the

day before polling day, that exceeds the lowest rate charged by him or her or

it for an equal amount of equivalent time on the same facilities made available

to another person in that period; or

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