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Qualifica- tions
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(4) An election officer must be qualified as
an elector and an election officer referred to in
any of paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (d) to (g) and (j)
must reside in the electoral district in which he
or she is to perform duties under this Act.
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Exception
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(5) In the case of an appointment that is to
be made by a returning officer, if he or she is
unable to appoint an election officer who
meets the requirements set out in subsection
(4), he or she may, with the approval of the
Chief Electoral Officer, appoint
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Prohibition -
acting as
election
officer
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(6) No person shall act as an election officer
knowing that they do not meet the
requirements for an election officer set out in
this section.
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Oath
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23. (1) Before assuming duties, an election
officer shall swear an oath in writing, in the
prescribed form, to perform the duties of the
office in an impartial manner.
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Prohibition
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(2) No election officer shall communicate
information obtained in the course of
performing his or her duties under this Act,
other than for a purpose related to the
performance of those duties.
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Sending of
oaths
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(3) The returning officer shall send the
documents containing the oaths of the
returning officer and assistant returning
officer without delay to the Chief Electoral
Officer.
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Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers |
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Appointment
of returning
officers
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24. (1) The Governor in Council shall
appoint a returning officer for each electoral
district and may only remove him or her for
cause under subsection (7).
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Responsibi- lity of returning officer
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(2) A returning officer is responsible, under
the general direction of the Chief Electoral
Officer, for the preparation for and conduct of
an election in his or her electoral district.
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Obligation to
act to enable
elections to be
held
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(3) Every returning officer to whom a writ
is directed shall, on its receipt, or on
notification by the Chief Electoral Officer of
its issue, cause to be promptly taken any of the
proceedings directed by this Act that are
necessary in order that the election may be
regularly held.
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Vacancy
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(4) The office of a returning officer is not
vacant unless the returning officer dies,
resigns, ceases to reside in the electoral
district or is removed from office or the
boundaries of their electoral district are
revised as a result of a representation order
made under section 25 of the Electoral
Boundaries Readjustment Act.
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Resignation
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(5) A returning officer who intends to resign
shall give written notice to that effect to the
Chief Electoral Officer and the resignation is
effective only when it is accepted by the Chief
Electoral Officer.
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No partisan
conduct
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(6) No returning officer shall, while in
office, knowingly engage in politically
partisan conduct and in particular shall not
make a contribution to a candidate or belong
to or make a contribution to, be an employee
of or hold a position in, a registered party or an
eligible party.
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Removal from
office
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(7) The Governor in Council may remove
from office any returning officer who
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List in
Canada
Gazette
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25. The name, address and occupation of
each person appointed as a returning officer
and the name of the electoral district for which
he or she is appointed shall be communicated
as soon as practicable to the Chief Electoral
Officer. Between the 1st and 20th days of
January in each year, the Chief Electoral
Officer shall publish a list in the Canada
Gazette of the name, address and occupation
of the returning officer for each electoral
district in Canada.
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Assistant
returning
officer
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26. (1) A returning officer shall, without
delay after being appointed, appoint in writing
an assistant returning officer, who shall hold
office at pleasure and send the appointment in
writing to the Chief Electoral Officer.
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Restriction on
appointment
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(2) A returning officer shall not appoint his
or her mother, father, child, stepchild, brother,
sister, half-brother, half-sister or a person who
lives with him or her, as an assistant returning
officer.
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Authoriza- tion
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27. (1) The returning officer for an electoral
district may, with the prior approval of the
Chief Electoral Officer, authorize any person
acting under his or her direction to perform
any of the functions of a returning officer
under this Act, except those described in
subsection 24(3), sections 57, 62, 63 and 67,
subsections 71(1) and 72(1), sections 74, 77,
103, 104, 130, 293 to 298 and 300, subsection
301(6) and sections 313 to 316.
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Authoriza- tion in writing
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(2) An authorization under subsection (1)
shall be signed and dated by the returning
officer.
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Notification if
returning
officer
incapacitated
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28. (1) It is the duty of a returning officer or
an assistant returning officer to notify the
Chief Electoral Officer without delay if the
returning officer at any time becomes unable
to act.
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Communica- tion of notifications
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(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall
communicate any notification received under
subsection (1) to the Minister.
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Assistant
returning
officer to act
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(3) If a returning officer becomes unable to
act, the assistant returning officer shall act
until the appointment of a new returning
officer or until the returning officer becomes
able to act.
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Appointment
within limited
period
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(4) Within 60 days after the date on which
the Chief Electoral Officer has been notified
of a vacancy in the office of a returning officer
or accepts the resignation of a returning
officer, the Governor in Council shall appoint
a new returning officer.
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Appointment
of assistant
returning
officer
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(5) Every assistant returning officer who is
required to act as a returning officer under
subsection (3) shall appoint an assistant
returning officer without delay.
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Duties of
returning
officer
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29. (1) A returning officer shall
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Appointment
of substitute
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(2) If an assistant returning officer dies,
resigns, becomes disqualified or incapable of
acting or refuses to act, or is removed from
office for any other reason, the returning
officer who appointed him or her shall without
delay appoint a substitute.
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Tenure of
office of
assistant
returning
officer
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(3) When a returning officer ceases to hold
office, the assistant returning officer
appointed by him or her remains in office until
the returning officer's successor appoints a
new assistant returning officer.
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Resignation
by assistant
returning
officer
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(4) An assistant returning officer who
intends to resign shall give written notice to
the returning officer who appointed him or her
or, if the office of returning officer is vacant,
to the Chief Electoral Officer.
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Additional
assistant
returning
officer
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30. (1) On request by a returning officer, the
Chief Electoral Officer may designate areas in
the returning officer's electoral district and
authorize, in writing, the appointment of an
assistant returning officer, in addition to the
assistant returning officer appointed under
subsection 26(1), for each of those areas.
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Appointment
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(2) A returning officer shall appoint an
additional assistant returning officer and
establish an office in each area designated by
the Chief Electoral Officer.
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Delegation
limited
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(3) An assistant returning officer appointed
under subsection (2) may perform the
functions of an assistant returning officer only
in respect of the area for which they are
appointed.
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Further
limitation
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(4) An assistant returning officer appointed
under subsection (2) may not perform the
functions described in subsections 28(1),
60(2), 70(1) and 293(1).
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Prohibition -
acting in
another
capacity
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31. No returning officer or assistant
returning officer appointed under subsection
26(1) shall act in any other capacity under this
Act.
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Election Officers Appointed by Returning Officer |
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General
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Election
officers
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32. After the issue of the writ, a returning
officer shall appoint the following election
officers in the prescribed form:
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Revising Agents
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Solicitation of
names
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33. (1) Before appointing revising agents, a
returning officer shall solicit names of suitable
persons from the registered parties whose
candidates finished first and second in the last
election in the electoral district and, if
sufficient names are not provided by those
parties within three days after receipt of the
request, the returning officer may solicit
names from any other source.
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Equal
distribution
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(2) A returning officer shall appoint half of
the revising agents from among the persons
recommended by the registered party whose
candidate finished first in the last election in
the electoral district, and half from among the
persons recommended by the registered party
whose candidate finished second in that
election.
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Revising
agents to
work in pairs
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(3) A returning officer shall appoint
revising agents to work in pairs and each pair
shall consist, as far as possible, of persons
recommended by different registered parties.
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Replacement
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(4) A returning officer may replace a
revising agent at any time and the former
revising agent shall return all election
materials in his or her possession to the
returning officer.
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Lists of
revising
agents
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(5) Each returning officer shall make
available to each candidate a list of the
revising agents for the electoral district, on
completion of the list.
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Identification
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(6) Each revising agent shall, while
performing his or her functions, wear or carry
the identification that is supplied by the Chief
Electoral Officer and shall show it on request.
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Deputy Returning Officers and Poll Clerks
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Deputy
returning
officers
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34. (1) Each deputy returning officer
referred to in paragraph 32(b) or (c) shall be
appointed from lists of names of suitable
persons provided by the candidate of the
registered party whose candidate finished first
in the electoral district in the last election.
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Replacing
deputies
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(2) A returning officer may, at any time,
remove a deputy returning officer.
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Poll clerks
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35. (1) Each poll clerk referred to in
paragraph 32(b) or (c) shall be appointed from
lists of names of suitable persons provided by
the candidate of the registered party whose
candidate finished second in the electoral
district in the last election.
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Replacing poll
clerks
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(2) A returning officer may, at any time,
remove a poll clerk.
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Appointment
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36. A returning officer shall proceed to
appoint deputy returning officers and poll
clerks from other sources if the candidates
have not, by the 17th day before polling day,
made their recommendations or have not
recommended a sufficient number of suitable
persons.
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Refusal to
appoint
deputy
returning
officer
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37. (1) A returning officer may, on
reasonable grounds, refuse to appoint a deputy
returning officer or a poll clerk recommended
by a candidate and shall immediately advise
the candidate of the refusal.
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Recommen- dation of another person
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(2) The candidate may, within 24 hours
after being advised of the refusal, recommend
another person and, if he or she does not do so,
the returning officer shall proceed to appoint
another person whose name is solicited from
another source.
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Replacement
for deputy
returning
officer
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38. (1) When the office of deputy returning
officer is vacant or if the deputy returning
officer is unable or unwilling to act, and the
returning officer has not appointed a
replacement, the poll clerk shall act as deputy
returning officer without taking another oath.
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Another poll
clerk
appointed
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(2) When a poll clerk acts as deputy
returning officer, the poll clerk shall, in the
prescribed form, appoint a person to act as poll
clerk.
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Registration Officers
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Registration
offices
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39. (1) The returning officer shall establish
one or more registration desks in accordance
with the instructions of the Chief Electoral
Officer.
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Appointment
of registration
officers
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(2) The returning officer shall appoint, for
each registration desk, a registration officer to
receive, on polling day, the applications for
registration of electors whose names are not
on the list of electors.
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Solicitation of
names
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(3) Before appointing registration officers,
the returning officer shall solicit names of
suitable persons from the candidates of the
registered parties whose candidates finished
first and second in the last election in the
electoral district, to be submitted to the
returning officer no later than the 17th day
before polling day. If, by that time, a sufficient
number of names of suitable persons are not
provided by those candidates, the returning
officer may solicit names from other sources.
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Equal
distribution of
appointments
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(4) The returning officer shall, as far as
possible, appoint half of the registration
officers from among the persons
recommended by each of the candidates under
subsection (3). If either of those candidates did
not provide a sufficient number of names of
suitable persons, his or her registered party's
remaining share of the appointments shall be
made from among the names solicited by the
returning officer from other sources.
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