Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum
Part 10
Advance Polling
Establishment of Advance Polling Stations
Establishment of advance polling districts
168. (1) Each returning officer shall, as
directed by the Chief Electoral Officer, establish
in his or her electoral district advance
polling districts that consist of one or more
polling divisions.
Description of districts
(2) The returning officer shall give the Chief
Electoral Officer a description of each advance
polling district that is established.
Establishment of advance polling station
(3) An advance polling station shall be established
in each advance polling district.
Combining advance polling districts
(4) When a request is made to a returning
officer not later than four days after the issue of
the writ, the returning officer may, with the permission
of the Chief Electoral Officer, combine
two advance polling districts into one district.
Request to move an advance polling station
(5) When a request is made to a returning
officer not later than four days after the issue
of the writ to change the location of an advance
polling station, the returning officer, with the prior approval of the Chief Electoral Officer,
may do so.
Level access
(6) An advance polling station shall be in
premises with level access.
Exception
(7) If a returning officer is unable to secure
suitable premises with level access for use
as an advance polling station, the returning
officer may, with the prior approval of the Chief
Electoral Officer, locate the advance polling station
in premises without level access.
Registration
Registration at advance polling station
169. (1) Every elector whose name is not on
the revised list of electors may register in person
before the deputy returning officer in the
advance polling station where the elector is entitled to vote.
Conditions
(2) An elector shall not be registered unless
he or she
(a) provides as proof of his or her identity
and residence the piece or pieces of identification
referred to in paragraph 143(2)(a) or
(b), respectively, which piece or one of which
pieces must contain an address that proves
his or her residence; or
(b) proves his or her identity and residence
by taking the prescribed oath, and is accompanied
by an elector whose name appears
on the list of electors for the same polling
division and who
(i) provides the piece or pieces of identification
referred to in paragraph 143(2)(a)
or (b), respectively, which piece or one
of which pieces must contain either an
address that proves his or her residence or
an address that is consistent with information
related to him or her that appears on
the list of electors, and
(ii) vouches for him or her on oath in the
prescribed form, which form must include a
statement as to the residence of both electors.
Registration certificate
(3) If the elector satisfies the requirements
of subsection (2), the deputy returning officer
shall complete a registration certificate in the
prescribed form and the elector shall sign it.
Entry
(4) The poll clerk shall indicate on the prescribed
form the names of the electors who are
permitted to vote under this section.
Prohibition — vouching for more than one elector
(5) No elector shall vouch for more than one
elector at a referendum.
Prohibition — vouchee acting as voucher
(6) An elector who has been vouched for at a
referendum may not vouch for another elector
at that referendum.
Requirement before administering oath
169.1 If a person chooses to prove his or her
identity and residence by taking the prescribed
oath, the person who administers the oath shall,
before doing so, orally advise the oath taker of
the qualifications for electors.
List deemed to be modified
170. When a registration certificate is completed
and signed in accordance with subsection
169(3), the list of electors is deemed to have
been modified in accordance with the certificate.
Voting Procedure
Conduct of advance polls
171. (1) Except as provided in this Part, an
advance poll shall be conducted in the same
manner as the manner in which the vote at a polling
station on polling day is conducted and shall
be regarded as such for all purposes of this Act.
When advance polls to be open
(2) An advance poll shall only be open
between the hours of noon and 8:00 p.m. on
Friday, Saturday and Monday, the 10th, 9th and
7th days, respectively, before polling day.
Notice of advance poll
172. Each returning officer shall, not later
than Saturday, the 16th day before polling day,
(a) give a notice, in the prescribed form, in
the electoral district of the advance poll, that
sets out the following information:
(i) the numbers of the polling divisions in
every advance polling district established
by the returning officer,
(ii) the location of each advance polling
station,
(iii) the place where the deputy returning
officer of each advance polling station
shall count the number of votes cast at the
advance polling station, and
(iv) that the counting of the votes cast shall
take place on polling day as soon after the
close of the polling stations as possible;
and
(b) send two copies of the notice to the Chief
Electoral Officer.
Who may vote at advance polls
173. (1) An elector whose name is on the
revised list of electors for a polling division
in an advance polling district may vote at the
advance polling station established for the
advance polling district.
Elector not on the revised list
(2) An elector whose name is not on the
revised list of electors may not vote at an
advance polling station unless
(a) the deputy returning officer has ascertained
with the returning officer that the elector is
listed on the preliminary list of electors or was
registered during the revision period; or
(b) the elector has obtained a registration certificate
in accordance with subsection 169(3).
Procedure by poll clerk
(3) If an elector whose name does not appear
on the revised list of electors has voted, the
poll clerk shall indicate on the prescribed form
that the elector has voted in accordance with
subsection (2).
Duties of deputy returning officer
174. (1) If an elector whose name is on the
list of electors makes a request to vote at an
advance polling station that is established for
his or her polling division, the deputy returning
officer shall permit the elector to vote unless
(a) the elector fails to prove his or her identity
and residence in accordance with subsection
143(2) or (3) or to take an oath otherwise
required by this Act; or
(b) the person refuses to sign the record
of votes cast at an advance polling station
referred to in subsection (2), as directed by
the poll clerk under that subsection.
Record of votes cast
(2) The poll clerk at the advance polling station
shall, under the direction of the deputy
returning officer, keep a record in duplicate, in
the prescribed form, of the names of all persons
who vote at the advance polling station, in the
order in which they vote, and shall
(a) mark on the record the notations that the
poll clerk is required by this Act to make
opposite an elector's name at a polling station
on polling day; and
(b) direct the elector to sign the record opposite
his or her name.
Examining and sealing of ballot box
175. (1) At the opening of an advance polling
station at noon on the first day of voting,
the deputy returning officer shall, in full view
of the agents of registered referendum committees
or witnesses who are present,
(a) open the ballot box and ascertain that it is
empty;
(b) seal the ballot box with the seals provided
by the Chief Electoral Officer; and
(c) place the ballot box on a table in full view
of all present and keep it there until the close
of the advance polling station on that day.
Close of advance poll
(2) At the close of the advance polling station
at 8:00 p.m. on each of the three days of voting,
the deputy returning officer shall, in full view
of the agents of registered referendum committees
or witnesses who are present,
(a) unseal and open the ballot box;
(b) empty the ballots cast during that day, in
a manner that does not disclose for which
answer to a referendum question any elector
has voted, into the envelope supplied for
the purpose, seal the envelope with the seal
provided by the Chief Electoral Officer and
indicate on it the number of ballots contained
in it;
(c) count the spoiled ballots, place them in
the envelope supplied for the purpose, seal
the envelope and indicate on it the number of
spoiled ballots contained in it;
(d) count the unused ballots and the number
of electors who have voted at the advance
polling station and place the unused ballots
and a copy of the record of votes cast at the
advance polling station in the envelope supplied
for the purpose, seal the envelope with
the seal provided by the Chief Electoral
Officer and indicate on it the number of
unused ballots contained in it and the number
of electors who have voted; and
(e) place the envelopes referred to in paragraphs
(b) to (d) in the ballot box after the
signatures have been made as described in
subsection (3), and seal the ballot box.
Affixing of signatures
(3) The deputy returning officer and poll clerk
shall place their signatures on the seals affixed
to the envelopes referred to in paragraphs (2)(b)
to (d). The agents of registered referendum
committees or witnesses who are present may
also place their signatures on the seals.
Re-opening of advance poll
(4) At the re-opening of the advance polling
station at noon on the second and third days
of voting, the deputy returning officer shall, in
full view of the agents of registered referendum
committees or witnesses who are present,
(a) unseal and open the ballot box, leaving in
it the sealed envelopes containing the spoiled
ballots and the ballots cast on the previous
day or days of voting;
(b) take out and open the envelope that contains
the unused ballots and the record of
votes cast at the advance polling station; and
(c) seal the ballot box, place it on the table
in full view of all present and keep it there
until the close of the advance polling station
on that day.
Custody of ballot box
(5) In the intervals between voting hours at
the advance polling station and until the counting
of the ballots on polling day, the deputy
returning officer shall keep the sealed ballot
box in his or her custody.
Agents or witnesses may check seals
(6) When an advance polling station closes
on each of the three days of the vote, the agents
of registered referendum committees or witnesses
may take note of the serial number of the
seal on the ballot box, and may again take note
of the serial number when the advance polling
station is re-opened on each of the three days
of voting and when the votes are counted on
polling day.
Collecting the record of votes cast at an advance polling station
176. (1) As soon as possible after the close
of advance polling stations on Monday, the
seventh day before polling day, the returning
officer shall have the original copy of the record
of votes cast collected from the advance polling
stations.
Crossing off names of voters at advance polls from lists
(2) Without delay after the returning officer
collects the records of votes cast at advance
polling stations, he or she shall cross off the
lists of electors the names of all electors who
voted at the advance polling stations.
When lists already distributed
(3) If an official list of electors is sent to a
polling station containing the names of electors
that appear in the record of votes cast at an
advance polling station as having already voted,
the returning officer shall instruct the deputy
returning officer to cross their names off the
list, and the deputy returning officer shall do so
without delay.
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