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Returning Officers' Report of Proceedings – 42nd General Election, 2015

Additional Question: Post-Electoral Meetings

Based on your experience with this election, are there any specific topics that you think should be added to the agenda for discussion during post-event meetings?

Priority Topics

Modernization of the electoral process

Advance polls process

  • Find a solution for long lineups
  • Adjust advance poll boundaries (less electors per advance polling division)
  • Simplify the process

Polling day process

  • Discontinue or improve the use of bingo sheets and/or amend the instruction to provide them to candidates the next day
  • Improve the closing of polling stations
  • Discuss ways to provide breaks to workers (a standby at the polling place)
  • Review polling division boundaries

General

  • Voting process and advertising for SVR (hospital special ballot voting, military, RO office)
  • Reduce the amount of forms and materials
  • Introduce online voting
  • Address the general complexity of the process
  • Standardize federal, provincial, territorial and municipal processes

Enhancement of training

Poll workers

  • Focus the training on tasks instead of background information and justification
  • Present simulation-type activities
  • Cut into sections to include breaks (too long in general, too short for the content)
  • Discuss how to motivate workers to do a good job and be reliable
  • Discuss how to assess their capacity to do the job

Returning officers

  • Add hands-on training on systems
  • Do a simulation of an event (go through the calendar)

Other

  • Add a training session for the training officer
  • Add a training session for the financial officer

Enhancement of communications between ECHQ and the field

ECSN / subject matter experts

  • Improve quickness and accuracy of answers

Other

  • Centralize information
  • Make the information easily accessible and researchable
  • Ensure consistency of information and instructions
  • Improve timeliness of communications (delay, time of day)

Enhancement of recruitment

Poll workers

  • Work on improving selection tools
  • Build a good recruitment plan
  • Improve RMS and integrate with ROPS

Modernization of IT equipment

  • Aim for reliability of equipment
  • Dissatisfaction with the Dell printer (capacity)
  • Dissatisfaction with the phone system (performance, quantity, assignments, accessories)
  • Improve efficiency of initial installation

Other Topics

Budget

  • Consultations with ROs for budget planning
  • Rates of pay for workers (poll workers and office staff)
  • Number of hours per position

Election applications

Integration

  • Reduce the number of passwords
  • Reduce the duplication of information
  • Centralize location of applications
  • Consistency and uniformity in the architecture, functionality, look and feel, and language used