Survey of Election Officers Following the 40th General Election
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day: Opening Time
According to respondents, virtually all polling centres and polling stations opened on time on election day. However, 5% of Albertan respondents report some delay in the opening of their polling station, which is significantly higher than in other regions or any other category of poll.
Top reasons given by officers have to do with some employees showing up late or not showing up at all (43%), problems with material and furniture (18%) or a lack of communication between persons in charge and outside providers (14%).
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day: Flow of Electors
According to the vast majority of officers (94%), the flow of electors on election day was either very or fairly smooth.
However, 16% of Manitoban officers claim the opposite.
Central Poll Supervisors (98%) are more likely to say that the flow went smoothly than DRO (93%) and IO officers (93%).
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day: Language Issues
For the most part, supervisors (95%) and IO's (95%) had no trouble responding to electors in their own language.
However, officers in Manitoba (12%) have encountered language barriers more often than anywhere else.
Among respondents who did experience a language issue at some point (n=46), one third claimed that it happened either very or fairly often.
Did you ever encounter difficulty in responding to electors in their own language? N=1226 (Supervisors and Information officers)
Region
Staffing Position
Total
ATL.
QC
ON
M AN
SASK
AB
BC
TER.
N. of 50th
CPS
IO
Yes
5%
blue colour 1%
4%
red colour 7%
12%
1%
8%
4%
0%
6%
5%
5%
No
95%
red colour 99%
96%
blue colour 93%
88%
99%
92%
96%
100%
94%
95%
95%
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day: The Bingo Cards
About three in four respondents (73%) claimed to have been given enough information on how to use the bingo card. This proportion is significantly lower among BC respondents (61%) and officers who worked in advance polls (61%). Central poll supervisors (68%) and IO's (62%) also felt that they had not been given enough information on how to use the form.
Despite the lack of information, more than four in five officers (83%) found the bingo card easy to use. There is no major distinctions between the type of polls or the category of officers. However, officers in ridings North of the 50th parallel seem to have found it less easy to use the bingo cards (70%).
Thinking about the new form titled "Statement of the electors who have voted on polling day" (also called the "bingo card"), would you say that during the training you received enough information on how to use it? N=3115
Total
ATL.
QC
ON
MAN
SASK
AB
BC
TER.
N. of 50th
Yes
73%
74%
75%
74%
75%
red colour 78%
71%
blue colour 61%
65%
blue colour 68%
No
12%
14%
blue colour 9%
12%
8%
11%
11%
red colour 18%
15%
red colour 17%
Not quite / Almost
7%
6%
blue colour 4%
7%
12%
5%
7%
red colour 10%
20%
3%
I don't k now
9%
6%
red colour 13%
blue colour 7%
5%
7%
10%
11%
0%
12%
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day: Counting the Votes
About three in five (60%) officers who worked in ordinary polls said that the candidates' representative picked up the forms as soon as updates were available.
However, this is true for slightly less than half of respondents in both Saskatchewan (49%) and Alberta (47%).
Most officers report that vote counting went well (an average of 95% overall), although there is a proportion of officers in Quebec (8%) and BC (8%) who claim the opposite.
Reported problems with counting include partners' incompetence (30%), overly long procedure (23%), inadequate instructions (19%), votes that did notbalance in the end (14%) and lack of organisation (12%).
On election day, did the candidates representative generally pick up the forms (bingo cards) as soon as there were updates available? N=2477
Total
ATL.
QC
ON
MAN
SASK
AB
BC
TER.
N. of 50th
Yes
60%
60%
red colour 65%
61%
64%
blue colour 49%
blue colour 47%
63%
5%
red colour 59%
No
23%
28%
blue colour 17%
23%
21%
red colour 34%
red colour 32%
24%
33%
blue colour 24%
Not quite / Almost
11%
9%
13%
12%
10%
11%
9%
9%
60%
red colour 16%
I don't know
5%
4%
6%
4%
4%
6%
red colour 13%
4%
2%
blue colour 1%
Why do you say that? N=120 Top reasons
Total
My partner were not competent
30%
It took too much tim e
23%
Inade quate instructions / training
19%
Did not balance
14%
Organis ation was not good
12%
Not enough people to help
5%
Too much pape work
5%
Assessment of Polling Sites on Election Day: Closing Down the Polls
Virtually all DRO's (95%) found the flow charts to be useful.
Once the polls closed, about half (53%) of the DRO's disposed of the lists of electors in the provided yellow bag, and one in four officers gave the lists to a supervisor (14%) or put them in the box (12%).
Once the votes are counted, deputy returning officers are provided with a flow-chart explaining the steps that must be followed in order to wrap-up the election material. Would you say that the flow-chart was... To assist you in wrapping up election materials? N=1889 (Deputy returning officers)
Total
ATL.
QC
ON
MAN
SASK
AB
BC
TER.
N. of 50th
...Very useful
70%
75%
blue colour 66%
red colour 74%
71%
red colour 77%
blue colour 61%
66%
67%
blue colour 64%
...Somewhat useful
25%
23%
25%
24%
28%
22%
red colour 35%
24%
8%
24%
...Not at all useful
3%
1%
4%
blue colour 1%
1%
2%
4%
red colour 8%
24%
red colour 8%
I don't k now
2%
1%
red colour 5%
blue colour 1%
0%
blue colour 0%
0%
2%
0%
3%
What did you do with the lists of electors when you closed your poll? N=1889 (Deputy returning officers)
Total
Moved back in the provided yellow bag
53%
Given to a supervisor for disposal
14%
I put it in the box
12%
In the envelope
3%
Brought home to be disposed of in a secure fashion
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