Backgrounders

Elections Canada: General Information: Backgrounders

Voting by Incarcerated Electors (See also Voting in By-elections by Incarcerated Electors, EC 90760.) Canadians who will be at least 18 years of age on polling day and who are currently in a correctional institution or a federal penitentiary in Canada may vote by special ballot in a federal election or referendum regardless of the length of their sentences. A staff member in each institution is appointed liaison officer to facilitate the process of registering and voting. The liaison officer answers questions about the manner of voting and helps the electors to register. Definition of address of ordinary residence For electoral purposes, the incarcerated elector’s address of ordinary residence is not the institution in which he or she is serving a sentence. It is the first of the following places for which the elector knows the civic and mailing addresses: his or her residence before being incarcerated; or the residence of the spouse, the common-law partner, a relative or dependant, a relative of his or her spouse or common-law partner, or the person with whom the elector would live if not incarcerated; or, if these addresses are not known or do not apply the place where the elector was arrested; or the last court where the elector was convicted and sentenced. Registration The incarcerated elector registers by filling out an Application for Registration and Special Ballot form, which is available from the liaison officer once an electoral event has been called. The elector returns the completed application to the liaison officer, who then validates it. Manner of voting During a general election or referendum, incarcerated electors vote in their institutions on the 10th day before polling day. A polling station is set up at 9:00 a.m. to gather the votes and remains open until all those who wish to vote have done so, but no later than 8:00 p.m. Each polling station has the complete list of candidates. In the case of a referendum, each referendum question is printed on a separate ballot. To vote, the elector must first complete and sign the declaration on the outer envelope included in the voting kit. The declaration states that the elector’s name is as shown on the envelope and that he or she has not already voted and will not attempt to vote again in the electoral event underway. The elector then completes the ballot by writing on it the name of one of the candidates in his or her electoral district – or, in the case of a referendum, by checking either “yes” or “no”. He or she inserts the ballot into the series of envelopes in accordance with the instructions provided. Finally, the completed ballot must arrive at Elections Canada in Ottawa no later than 6:00 p.m., Ottawa time, on polling day. During a general election or referendum, electors may leave the ballots with the deputy returning officer to forward by special arrangement. The ballot must be sent in the envelopes provided. A ballot received by any other means, including fax, cannot be counted. The Canada Elections Act also prohibits counting ballots received after the deadline. RESULTS OF VOTING BY SPECIAL BALLOT Counting the votes The ballots of incarcerated electors are counted at the same time as those of Canadian residents absent from their electoral districts, electors temporarily residing outside Canada and Canadian Forces electors, provided they have been received at Elections Canada in Ottawa before 6:00 p.m. on polling day. The counting of special ballots is conducted under the supervision of the Special Voting Rules Administrator. The procedure is described below. The counting of special ballots commences on the fifth day before polling day or on a day set by the Chief Electoral Officer. Special ballot officers appointed on the recommendation of the political parties check the outer envelopes to make sure they have been completed properly. The special ballot officers open the outer envelopes, take out the unmarked inner envelopes containing the ballots, and deposit each sealed inner envelope in a ballot box for the appropriate electoral district. The special ballot officers open the ballot boxes for each district, take the ballots out of the inner envelopes, and count them. The special ballot officers complete a Statement of the Count and deliver it to the Special Voting Rules Administrator at Elections Canada. Communicating the results As soon as the special ballots are counted at Elections Canada in Ottawa, the Special Voting Rules Administrator informs the Chief Electoral Officer of the results of the special ballot vote for each electoral district. The Chief Electoral Officer totals the results, for each district, of the vote by special ballot of Canadian Forces electors, Canadian citizens temporarily residing outside the country and incarcerated electors. These three categories are designated as Group 1. After the polling stations close on polling day, the Group 1 results for each district are sent to the appropriate returning officer. The other category of electors whose votes are counted in Ottawa is Canadian residents absent from their districts. The results of these votes are tallied separately from Group 1 and sent to the appropriate returning officer, who adds this result to the result for electors voting by special ballot in their own electoral districts. These two categories are designated as Group 2. The results of the two groups are reported separately on polling night. All the results of the special ballot votes are then added to the total results for each electoral district. For more information, please contact: Elections Canada 257 Slater Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M6 Telephone 1 800 463-6868 toll-free in Canada and the United States 001 800 514-6868 toll-free in Mexico (613) 993-2975 from anywhere in the world For people who are deaf or hard of hearing: TTY 1 800 361-8935 toll-free in Canada and the United States Fax (613) 954-8584 1 888 524-1444 toll-free in Canada and the United States This publication is available in alternative formats. April 2004