Backgrounders
Voting in By-elections by Canadian Forces Electors
(See Voting by Special Ballot for Canadian Forces Electors, EC 90550, for general elections and referendums.)
A Canadian Forces elector votes by mail using a special ballot in any by-election held in the electoral district of his or her address, as listed on the Statement of Ordinary Residence. This method of voting is governed by the Special Voting Rules, Part 11 of the Canada Elections Act. Canadian Forces electors may also vote at civilian polling stations in the electoral districts where they are registered, if they are residing there at the time of a by-election.
Canadian Forces electors are Canadians who have reached the age of 18 and are members of the Canadian Forces or teachers or administrative support staff in Canadian Forces schools outside Canada. They may vote by special ballot in any election or referendum.
People living with members of the Canadian Forces outside Canada are not included in the category of Canadian Forces electors, but may vote as Canadians residing temporarily outside the country (see Voting by Special Ballot, EC 90540).
Registration
The Department of National Defence keeps a permanent register of Canadian Forces electors. When they enrol, each completes a Statement of Ordinary Residence (SOR) that determines the electoral district for which his or her vote will be counted.
Manner of voting
After a by-election is called, Elections Canada sends a personalized special ballot voting kit to every Canadian Forces elector whose SOR lists an address in the electoral district where the by-election is taking place. In some cases, for example, if the elector is on peacekeeping duty, the kit may be sent to the commanding officer of his or her unit to forward. Unit commanding officers also forward the kits to electors who are away from their units on duty, leave or furlough during a by-election.
The elector must obtain the names of the candidates running in his or her electoral district. The names are available on the Elections Canada Web site (www.elections.ca) or by calling the Elections Canada Enquiries Unit, or through Canadian diplomatic missions and consular posts after the candidates have been confirmed, 19 days before election day. Elections Canada sends the list of candidates to all commanding officers of every unit. Elections Canada also sends a memo, along with the List of Confirmed Candidates, to each Canadian Forces elector whose SOR lists an address in the electoral district where the by-election is taking place. A list of candidates in the elector's electoral district may be included in any special ballot voting kit that is sent after the candidates have been confirmed (after the 19th day before election day).
To vote, the elector must first complete and sign the declaration on the outer envelope included in the voting kit. The declaration states that his or her name is as shown on the envelope and that he or she has not already voted in the by-election underway. The elector then completes the ballot by writing on it the name of one of the candidates in his or her electoral district and inserts the ballot into the series of envelopes in accordance with the instructions provided.
Finally, the elector is responsible for ensuring that Elections Canada in Ottawa receives the ballot no later than 6:00 p.m., Ottawa time, on election day. Electors may mail the ballots themselves or forward them through their unit commanding officers. Ballots must be returned in the envelopes provided. A ballot received by any other means, including fax, cannot be counted. The Act also prohibits counting ballots received after the deadline.
Instead of voting by special ballot, a Canadian Forces elector who is residing in the electoral district of his or her address on the SOR may vote at the civilian polling station in that electoral district, provided that he or she has not already voted and continues to reside in the same electoral district until election day.
RESULTS OF VOTING BY SPECIAL BALLOT
Counting the votes
The ballots of Canadian Forces electors received at Elections Canada in Ottawa before 6:00 p.m. on election day are counted at the same time as those of Canadian residents absent from their electoral districts or temporarily residing outside Canada and incarcerated electors. The procedure is described below.
- The counting of special ballots begins on the fifth day before election day, or on a day determined by the Chief Electoral Officer.
- The bar-code sticker on each outer envelope is scanned electronically to make sure that the ballot has come from a registered elector, and that no other ballot has already been received from that elector.
- Special ballot officers (appointed on the recommendation of the political parties) check the outer envelopes to determine if 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. If there is a by-election in more than one electoral district on the same date, each electoral district has its own ballot box.
- The special ballot officers complete a Statement of the Count for each electoral district involved in a by-election 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 involved in a by-election. The Chief Electoral Officer totals the results, by electoral 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 election day, the Group 1 results for each electoral 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 electoral 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 election night. All the results of the special ballot votes are then added to the total results for each electoral district involved in a by-election.
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.
February 2005