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Bill C-83

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First Reading

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	DIVISION 5
	INCARCERATED ELECTORS
Definition of ``elector''	244. For the purpose of this Division, ``elector'' means an incarcerated elector.
Entitlement to vote	245. (1) Every person who is incarcerated and who is otherwise qualified to vote under this Act is entitled to vote under this Division on the 10th day before polling day.
Exercise of right to vote	(2) An elector is not entitled to vote under this Division unless he or she has signed an application for registration and special ballot under section 251 and a declaration described in section 257.
Vote to be in electoral district	(3) An elector is entitled to vote under this Division only for a candidate in the electoral district in which their place of ordinary residence is situated as shown on the application for registration and special ballot made by the elector under section 251.
Designation of coordinating officers	246. The ministers responsible for corrections in the provinces shall each designate a person as a coordinating officer to work, during and between elections, under his or her direction, with the Chief Electoral Officer to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Division.
Notification of issue of the writs	247. (1) Without delay after the issue of the writs, the Chief Electoral Officer shall inform the minister responsible for corrections in a province of their issue and of the location of administrative centres.
Designation of liaison officers	(2) On being informed of the issue of the writs, each minister responsible for corrections in a province shall
	(a) inform the coordinating officer for that province of the issue of the writs;
	(b) designate one or more persons to act as liaison officers in connection with the taking of the votes of electors; and
	(c) inform the Chief Electoral Officer and the coordinating officer for that province of the name and address of each liaison officer.
Liaison officers	248. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall appoint persons designated under paragraph 247(2)(b) in the prescribed form.
Duty to cooperate	(2) During the election period, a liaison officer shall cooperate with the Chief Electoral Officer in the administration of the registration and the taking of the votes of electors.
Duty of coordinating officer	249. When a coordinating officer is informed that a liaison officer has been designated, the coordinating officer shall give the liaison officer all necessary information on taking the votes of electors.
Notice of entitlement to vote	250. (1) A liaison officer shall, without delay after being appointed, post a notice in the prescribed form in a prominent place in the correctional institution that informs electors of the date on which they are entitled to vote in accordance with this Division.
Voting hours	(2) The polling stations shall be open on the 10th day before polling day from 9:00 a.m. and shall be kept open until every elector who is registered under subsection 251(1) has voted, but in no case shall they be kept open later than 8:00 p.m. on that day.
Application for registration and special ballot	251. (1) Before the 10th day before polling day, each liaison officer shall ensure that an application for registration and special ballot in the prescribed form is completed for every eligible elector of the correctional institution who wishes to vote, indicating his or her place of ordinary residence as determined under subsection (2).
Residence of elector	(2) The place of ordinary residence of an elector is the first of the following places for which the elector knows the civic and mailing addresses:
	(a) his or her residence before being incarcerated;
	(b) the residence of a person with whom the elector would live but for his or her incarceration or a person designated by the elector as next of kin;
	(c) the place of his or her arrest; or
	(d) the last court where the elector was convicted and sentenced.
Optional information	(3) In addition to providing his or her place of ordinary residence, the Chief Electoral Officer may request that the elector provide other information that the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary to implement agreements made under section 55, but the elector is not required to provide that information.
Validation	(4) The liaison officer shall validate the application for registration and special ballot by signing it and indicating on it the name of the electoral district that includes the place of ordinary residence as determined under subsection (2).
Dispute about electoral district	(5) If a dispute arises as to in which electoral district an elector may vote, the elector may refer the matter to the returning officer for the electoral district where the correctional institution is located, and the returning officer shall make a final determination in accordance with the process for revising lists of electors.
List of incarcerated electors	252. Applications for registration and special ballot are deemed to be the list of electors who vote under this Division.
Appointment of deputy returning officers and poll clerks	253. (1) Before the 18th day before polling day, each returning officer shall, for each correctional institution in his or her electoral district, in consultation with the liaison officer for the institution, establish one or more polling stations and appoint a deputy returning officer and a poll clerk for each polling station.
Provision of election materials	(2) A liaison officer shall, on receiving the election materials and list of candidates,
	(a) provide the materials in sufficient quantities to the deputy returning officers appointed under subsection (1) for the correctional institution; and
	(b) post the list of candidates in one or more conspicuous places in the correctional institution.
Duties of deputy returning officer	254. On the day on which the electors cast their ballots, the deputy returning officer shall, at each polling station,
	(a) post two or more copies of the voting instructions, in the prescribed form, in conspicuous places; and
	(b) keep readily available for consultation by electors a copy of this Part, a set of street indexes, a guide to electoral districts and a list of candidates.
Mobile polling stations	255. (1) A liaison officer shall, when required, establish a mobile polling station within a correctional institution to take the votes of the electors who are confined to their cells or in an infirmary.
Common mobile polling stations	(2) A returning officer may, in cooperation with liaison officers, create a mobile polling station for correctional institutions of fewer than 50 electors that are within the returning officer's electoral district and that are within reasonable travelling distance of each other.
Represen- tative of registered party	256. With the prior authorization of correctional authorities, a Canadian citizen may represent a registered party during the taking of the votes at a correctional institution, if he or she provides the deputy returning officer with an authorization, in the prescribed form, signed by a candidate for that party.
Declaration of elector	257. (1) Before delivering a special ballot to an elector, the deputy returning officer for a correctional institution shall require the elector to complete an application for registration and special ballot, if the elector has not already done so, and to make and sign the declaration on the outer envelope.
Giving special ballot to elector	(2) After the elector has signed the declaration on the outer envelope, the deputy returning officer shall
	(a) sign the outer envelope; and
	(b) give the elector a special ballot, an inner envelope and the outer envelope.
Voting by special ballot	258. (1) The elector shall vote by writing on the special ballot the name of the candidate of his or her choice, folding the special ballot and, in the presence of the deputy returning officer,
	(a) placing the ballot in the inner envelope and sealing the envelope; and
	(b) placing the inner envelope in the outer envelope and sealing the outer envelope.
Writing candidate's name	(2) The candidate shall be indicated on a special ballot by writing the candidate's given name or initials and surname. If two or more candidates have the same name, their political affiliations shall be indicated.
Spoiled special ballot	(3) If an elector has inadvertently handled a special ballot in such a manner that it cannot be used,
	(a) the elector shall return it to the deputy returning officer; and
	(b) the deputy returning officer shall mark it as a spoiled ballot and give the elector another special ballot.
Limit	(4) An elector shall not be given more than one other special ballot under paragraph (3)(b).
Assistance	259. (1) If an elector is unable to read or because of a physical disability is unable to vote under this Division, the deputy returning officer shall assist the elector by
	(a) completing the declaration on the outer envelope and writing the elector's name where his or her signature is to be written; and
	(b) marking the special ballot as directed by the elector in his or her presence and in the presence of the poll clerk.
Note on outer envelope	(2) The deputy returning officer and the poll clerk shall sign a note on the outer envelope indicating that the elector was assisted.
Delivery of documents after the vote	260. Without delay after the votes have been cast at a correctional institution, the deputy returning officer shall deliver to the liaison officer for the institution
	(a) the outer envelopes that contain the marked special ballots;
	(b) any unused or spoiled outer envelopes;
	(c) any unused or spoiled special ballots and unused inner envelopes; and
	(d) the applications for registration and special ballot.
Deadline for return of election material	261. Every liaison officer shall ensure that the election material referred to in section 260 is received by the special voting rules administrator in Ottawa no later than 6:00 p.m. on polling day.
Integration into final list of electors	262. The applications for registration and special ballot shall be integrated into the final list of electors referred to in section 109.
	DIVISION 6
	COUNTING OF VOTES AT THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER
Application	263. This Division applies to the counting of all special ballots cast in accordance with this Part, except those referred to in Division 7.
Adminis- tration	264. (1) The counting of the special ballots shall be conducted by special ballot officers under the supervision of the special voting rules administrator.
Special ballot officers	(2) Special ballot officers shall work in pairs of persons representing different registered parties.
Directives	265. The Chief Electoral Officer shall prescribe security instructions for the safekeeping of special ballots, inner envelopes, outer envelopes and all other election documents, and instructions for the receiving, sorting and counting of special ballots.
Counting of votes	266. The counting of votes shall commence on a date to be fixed by the Chief Electoral Officer or, if no date is fixed, on Wednesday, the 5th day before polling day.
Setting aside of outer envelope	267. (1) The special ballot officers shall set aside an outer envelope unopened when they ascertain on its examination that
	(a) the information concerning the elector, as described on the outer envelope, does not correspond with the information on the application for registration and special ballot;
	(b) the envelope, other than an envelope in respect of an elector who has taken a vote under section 216, 243 or 259, does not bear the signature of an elector;
	(c) the correct electoral district of the elector whose ballot is contained in the outer envelope cannot be ascertained;
	(d) the outer envelope has been received in Ottawa by the special voting rules administrator after 6:00 p.m. on polling day; or
	(e) the outer envelope relates to an electoral district for which the election was postponed in accordance with section 77.
Procedure when elector votes more than once	(2) If, after receiving but before counting the outer envelopes, the special ballot officers ascertain that an elector has voted more than once, they shall lay the outer envelopes that relate to the elector aside unopened.
Disposition of outer envelopes that are laid aside	(3) When an outer envelope is laid aside unopened as described in subsection (1) or (2),
	(a) the outer envelope shall be endorsed by the special voting rules administrator with the reason why it has been laid aside;
	(b) at least two special ballot officers shall initial the endorsement; and
	(c) in the case of an outer envelope laid aside under subsection (1), the ballot contained in it is deemed to be a spoiled ballot.
Special report	(4) The special voting rules administrator shall prepare a report in respect of the number of outer envelopes that are laid aside under this Division.
Duties of special ballot officers	268. Each pair of special ballot officers shall count the votes for only one electoral district or part of an electoral district at a time.
Rejection of ballots	269. (1) Each pair of special ballot officers shall, on examining a special ballot, reject it if
	(a) it has not been supplied by the Chief Electoral Officer;
	(b) it is not marked;
	(c) it is marked with a name other than the name of a candidate;
	(d) it is marked with the names of more than one candidate; or
	(e) there is any writing or mark on it by which the elector could be identified.
Elector's intent	(2) No special ballot shall be rejected for the sole reason that the elector has incorrectly written the name of a candidate, if the ballot clearly indicates the elector's intent.
Disputed ballots	(3) If a dispute arises as to the validity of a special ballot, it shall be referred to the special voting rules administrator, whose decision is final.
Note of dispute	(4) The number of disputed special ballots and the name of the electoral district in which they were cast are to be noted by the special ballot officers.
Statements of the vote	270. (1) Each pair of special ballot officers shall prepare a statement of the vote in the prescribed form and deliver it to the special voting rules administrator.

Bill C-83

DIVISION 5

INCARCERATED ELECTORS

DIVISION 6

COUNTING OF VOTES AT THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER