Backgrounders
Establishing Eligibility to Vote in a Federal Election
In Canada's federal elections, the voting system strives to:
- ensure that anyone who is eligible has a reasonable chance to vote
- maintain election integrity by ensuring that only those who are eligible can vote
Only Canadian citizens who are at least 18 years of age on election day are eligible to vote in a federal election. In order to vote, all persons must satisfy election officers of their citizenship and age. This is not done at the time of actual voting, but at the time the elector is registered to vote.
How registration works
Registration can be done:
- between elections, through the National Register of Electors
- during an election, through a returning officer
- on election day at the polls
In every case, election officers must be satisfied of the citizenship and age of a person before he or she can be registered. (Citizenship and age are not the only things that must be established in order to be registered. Satisfactory proof must also be presented respecting the person's identity and residence.)
This involves providing to election officers a written and signed declaration attesting to the person's citizenship and age. Additional documentary proof is not required since it might not be readily available, particularly if someone needs to register at the polls and has not brought documents proving citizenship. Anyone knowingly making a false declaration may be fined up to $5,000 and face up to five years' imprisonment.
However, no declaration is required if a person is registered federally as a result of being registered on a provincial list of electors. In that case, the province is responsible for ensuring eligibility on registration.
Challenges to registration
During an election, up to the 14th day before election day, the registration of any individual on a list of electors may be challenged by any elector registered on that list for that electoral district. When a registration challenge is made, the returning officer holds a formal inquiry, open to candidates' representatives. The inquiry determines whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant deleting the name against which an objection has been raised.
Dealing with doubts about identity/eligibility at the polls
Sometimes there are concerns that persons presenting themselves at the polls might not be the actual persons whose names appear on the lists of electors. If a poll official or a representative of a candidate at a poll has concerns about the identity of an individual, that person must show satisfactory proof of identity or take a prescribed oath before being permitted to vote.
Following the 2000 general election, the Chief Electoral Officer recommended a similar process if at the polls there is any doubt that a registered elector is really eligible to vote. In such a case, the Chief Electoral Officer recommended, the deputy returning officers should be authorized to require the elector to swear or affirm his or her eligibility in writing.
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.
January 2006