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