Bill C-2
If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.
Documents to
be placed in
the ballot box
|
(4) The large envelope described in
subsection (3) and the envelope that contains
the copy of the statement of the vote shall be
placed in the ballot box.
|
|
Sealing ballot
box
|
(5) The ballot box shall be sealed by the
deputy returning officer with the seals
provided by the Chief Electoral Officer.
|
|
|
Advance Polls |
|
Counting of
votes on
polling day
|
289. (1) The deputy returning officer of an
advance poll shall, at the close of the polling
stations on polling day, attend with the poll
clerk at the place mentioned in the notice of
advance poll in subparagraph 172(a)(iii) to
count the votes.
|
|
Application of
rules for
counting
votes
|
(2) Subsections 283(1) and (2), paragraphs
283(3)(e) and (f) and sections 284 to 288 apply
with any necessary modifications to the
counting of the votes of an advance poll.
|
|
Prohibition
|
(3) No person shall make a count of the
votes cast at an advance poll before the close
of the polling stations on polling day.
|
|
|
Delivery of Ballot Boxes to Returning Officer |
|
Sending ballot
boxes and
statement to
returning
officer
|
290. (1) The deputy returning officer for a
polling station or an advance poll shall,
without delay after sealing the ballot box, send
the box, with the envelope that contains the
original statement of the vote and the
envelope that contains the registration
certificate, to the returning officer.
|
|
Collection of
ballot boxes
|
(2) A returning officer may appoint persons
to collect ballot boxes together with the
envelopes referred to in subsection (1) from
polling stations, and any person so appointed
shall take the prescribed oath when he or she
sends those materials to the returning officer.
|
|
Provision of
statements to
candidates
|
291. A returning officer shall, on request,
provide each candidate one copy of each
statement of the vote in the candidate's
electoral district.
|
|
Safekeeping
of ballot
boxes
|
292. A returning officer, on the receipt of
each ballot box, shall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PART 13 |
|
|
VALIDATION OF RESULTS BY THE RETURNING OFFICER |
|
Validation of
results
|
293. (1) After a returning officer receives
all of the ballot boxes, he or she shall, at his or
her office, in the presence of the assistant
returning officer at the time indicated in
paragraph 62(c), validate the results of the
vote from the original statements of the vote
and the information communicated under
section 280.
|
|
Adjournment
if ballot boxes
or information
not received
|
(2) If, on the day fixed for the validation of
the results as described in paragraph 62(c), a
returning officer has not received all the ballot
boxes or the information required by section
280, the returning officer shall adjourn the
proceedings for not more than seven days.
|
|
Further
adjournment
|
(3) If, on the day fixed for the proceedings
by virtue of an adjournment under subsection
(2), the returning officer has not, for any
reason, received the ballot boxes or
information referred to in that subsection, the
returning officer may make further
adjournments. The further adjournments may
not exceed a total of two weeks.
|
|
Witnesses at
validation
|
294. Candidates and their representatives
may attend the validation of the results, but if
none of them is present, the returning officer
shall ensure the presence of at least two
electors until the validation is completed.
|
|
Opening
ballot box in
certain cases
|
295. (1) If the original statement of the vote
is missing, appears to contain an error, to be
incomplete or to have been altered, or is
disputed by a candidate or his or her
representative, the returning officer may open
the ballot box and the envelope that contains
the copy of the statement of the vote or, if that
copy is missing, the large envelope.
|
|
Information
on envelopes
containing
ballots
|
(2) If a copy of the statement of the vote is
not found or is not useful for the purpose of
validating the results, the returning officer
may use the information that is written on the
envelopes that contain the ballots for that
purpose.
|
|
Limitation
|
(3) The returning officer shall not open an
envelope that appears to contain ballots.
|
|
Resealing of
loose papers
|
(4) If the returning officer opens the large
envelope, he or she shall place its contents into
another envelope, seal that envelope and
initial the seal.
|
|
Loss or
destruction of
ballot boxes
|
296. (1) If a ballot box has been destroyed
or is missing, the returning officer shall
ascertain the cause of the destruction or loss
and shall complete the validation of the results
from the original copy of the statement of the
vote in the same manner as if he or she had
received the ballot box.
|
|
Power to
summon and
examine
|
(2) If the returning officer is unable to
obtain either the original statement of the vote
or the ballot box, he or she
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notice to
candidates
|
(3) If paragraph (2)(b) applies, the returning
officer shall give notice to the candidates for
that electoral district of the date and time fixed
for the appearance.
|
|
Obligation to
comply with
summons
|
(4) Every person to whom a summons is
directed under paragraph (2)(b) shall obey it.
|
|
Certificate of
votes cast
|
297. Without delay after the validation of
the results, the returning officer shall prepare
a certificate in the prescribed form that sets out
the number of votes cast for each candidate,
and shall deliver the original of the certificate
to the Chief Electoral Officer and a copy of it
to each candidate or his or her representative.
In the case described in section 296, the
certificate shall indicate the number of votes
that have been ascertained to have been cast
for each candidate.
|
|
Ballot boxes
|
298. After the close of an election, each
returning officer shall dispose of the ballot
boxes as instructed by the Chief Electoral
Officer.
|
|
|
PART 14 |
|
|
JUDICIAL RECOUNT |
|
|
Interpretation |
|
Definition of
``judge''
|
299. (1) In this Part, ``judge'' means a judge
who sits in the electoral district where the
results are validated.
|
|
Powers of
judge
|
(2) A judge who is authorized by sections
300 to 309 to act may act, to the extent
authorized, within or outside his or her
judicial district.
|
|
|
Recount Procedure |
|
Request by
returning
officer for
recount
|
300. (1) If the difference between the
number of votes cast for the candidate with the
most votes and the number cast for any other
candidate is less than 1/1000 of the votes cast,
the returning officer shall make a request to a
judge for a recount within four days after the
results are validated.
|
|
Notice to
candidates
|
(2) The returning officer shall notify each
candidate or his or her official agent in writing
of the request for a recount.
|
|
Recount
automatic
|
(3) The judge shall fix the date for the
recount to be conducted within four days after
he or she receives the request.
|
|
Documents to
be supplied
|
(4) The returning officer shall attend the
recount and shall bring all relevant election
materials including
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
for recount
|
301. (1) An elector may, within four days
after the date on which a returning officer
issues a certificate under section 297, apply to
a judge for a recount.
|
|
Grounds for
recount
|
(2) The judge shall fix a date for a recount
if it appears, on the affidavit of a credible
witness, that
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deposit
|
(3) The applicant shall deposit with the
clerk or prothonotary of the court the sum of
$250 as security for the costs of the candidate
who obtained the largest number of votes.
|
|
Date for
recount and
summons
|
(4) The date fixed for the recount shall be
within four days after the judge receives the
application. The judge shall summon the
returning officer to attend and to bring the
relevant ballot boxes and statements of the
vote together with the ballots that were
counted, and the statements that were
completed, under Part 11.
|
|
Notice to
candidates
|
(5) The judge shall notify each candidate or
his or her official agent in writing of the time
and place fixed for the recount. The judge may
decide that service of the notice will be
substitutional, by mail or posting or in any
other manner.
|
|
Returning
officer
required to
attend
|
(6) A returning officer to whom a summons
is directed under subsection (4) shall obey it
and shall be present throughout the recount.
|
|
More than one
application
|
302. If a judge receives more than one
application for a recount for more than one
electoral district, the recounts shall be
conducted in the order in which the judge
receives the applications.
|
|
Right of
candidate to
attend
|
303. (1) Each candidate and up to three of
his or her representatives may attend at a
recount. If a candidate is not present and is not
represented at the recount, no more than three
electors are entitled to attend on the
candidate's behalf.
|
|
No other
person may
attend
|
(2) Except with the permission of the judge,
no person other than those described in
subsection (1) and the returning officer may be
present at the recount.
|
|
Recount
procedure
|
304. (1) The judge shall conduct the recount
by adding the number of votes reported in the
statements of the vote or by counting the valid
ballots or all of the ballots returned by the
deputy returning officers or the Chief
Electoral Officer.
|
|
Documents
that may be
examined
|
(2) If a recount of all of the ballots returned
is required, the judge may open the sealed
envelopes that contain the used and counted,
unused, rejected and spoiled ballots. The
judge shall not open any envelopes that appear
to contain other documents or refer to any
other election documents.
|
|
Steps to be
taken by
judge
|
(3) At a recount, the judge shall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Powers of
judge
|
(4) For the purpose of arriving at the facts
with respect to a missing ballot box or
statement of the vote, the judge has all the
powers of a returning officer with regard to the
attendance and examination of witnesses who,
in case of non-attendance, are subject to the
same consequences as in the case of refusal or
neglect to attend on the summons of a
returning officer.
|
|
Additional
powers of
judge
|
(5) For the purpose of conducting a recount,
a judge has the power to summon any deputy
returning officer or poll clerk as a witness and
to require him or her to give evidence on oath
and, for that purpose, has the same power that
is vested in any court of record.
|
|
Clerical
assistants
|
(6) Subject to the approval of the Chief
Electoral Officer, a judge may retain the
services of support staff to assist in the
performance of his or her duties under this
Part.
|
|
Proceedings
to be
continuous
|
305. The judge shall, as far as practicable,
proceed continuously with a recount, except
for necessary breaks and, unless the judge
orders otherwise, between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00
a.m.
|
|
Security of
documents
|
306. (1) During a break described in section
305, the judge or any other person who has
possession of ballots and other election
documents shall keep them sealed in parcels,
and the seal shall be signed by the judge and
may be signed by any other person in
attendance.
|
|
Supervision
of sealing
|
(2) The judge shall personally supervise the
parcelling and sealing of ballots and
documents at a recount and take all necessary
precautions for their security.
|
|
Judge may
terminate
recount
|
307. Except in a case referred to in section
300, a judge may at any time terminate a
recount on request in writing by the person
who applied for the recount.
|
|
Procedure at
conclusion of
recount
|
308. At the conclusion of a recount, the
judge shall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Costs
|
309. (1) If a recount does not alter the result
of the vote so as to affect the return, the judge
shall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disposal of
deposit and
right of action
for balance
|
(2) The money deposited as security for
costs shall, as far as is necessary, be paid out
to the candidate in whose favour costs are
awarded under subsection (1) and, if the
deposit is insufficient to cover the costs, the
party in whose favour the costs are awarded
has their action for the balance.
|
|
Application
for reimburse- ment of costs
|
310. (1) After a recount, a candidate may
make an application to the Chief Electoral
Officer for reimbursement of his or her costs
in respect of the recount, setting out the
amount and nature of the costs and whether
they were actually and reasonably incurred.
|
|
Chief
Electoral
Officer
determines
costs
|
(2) On receipt of an application under
subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer
shall determine the costs, and shall make a
request for reimbursement to the Receiver
General, up to a maximum of $500 for each
day or part of a day during which the judge
conducted the recount.
|
|
Payment from
Consolidated
Revenue Fund
|
(3) The Receiver General, on receipt of a
request for reimbursement from the Chief
Electoral Officer, shall pay to the candidate
the amount requested from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund.
|
|