Vote-by-mail safeguards – Official election information – September 20, 2021 federal election
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Visual: Federal Election appears. Fade to black.
Visual: An envelope appears on screen and opens to the Elections Canada logo and 'Vote by mail' label
Narrator: Vote-by-mail is not new in Canadian federal elections. Canadians have been able to vote by mail since 1993.
Visual: An envelope being put in a mailbox. Switch to a man standing at the mailbox. Switch to an Elections Canada employee in a mailroom. Switch to a woman standing at the mailbox staring at a Voter Information Card. Three animated visuals appear: An envelope, a special ballot kit, and a ballot box.
Narrator: Safeguards are in place that keep our system secure, and your vote secret.
Visual: An elector sitting at his desk looking at the Elections Canada website on his tablet.
Narrator: Once an election is called you can apply to vote by mail. You will need to provide proof of identity and address. Elections Canada reviews the application and ID provided.
Visual: An image of an animated blank ID card appears. An Elections Canada employee sits at her desk on her computer.
Narrator: If we approve the application, we mail you a special ballot voting kit, which includes: a special ballot, a blank white inner envelope, an outer envelope with your name, electoral district, and a declaration you must sign, a pre-addressed mailing envelope with pre-paid postage and voting instructions.
Visual: Contents of a special ballot voting kit appear on screen, including the special ballot, blank white inner envelope, an outer envelope with name, electoral district, and a declaration, a pre-addressed mailing envelope with pre-paid postage and voting instructions.
Narrator: Once you receive the kit, follow the instructions closely.
Visual: Switches back to elector sitting at his desk, reading the instructions.
Narrator: Special ballots are different than the ones you get when you vote at a polling station. Special ballots do not have a list of candidates to choose from. Instead, there is a blank space for you to write the name of the candidate in your riding you are voting for.
Visual: An animated version of a regular ballot and a special ballot appear on screen.
Narrator: The list of candidates is updated regularly on Elections Canada's website, and a final list will be available when the nomination period ends, three weeks before election day.
Visual: Clicking through various pages on Elections Canada website.
Narrator: You must write the name of a candidate on the ballot; if you write just the name of a political party, your ballot won't be counted.
Visual: Elector filling out his special ballot at his desk.
Narrator: Special ballots use a series of envelopes, so your vote can't be traced back to you.
Visual: The contents of a special ballot kit laid out on a table.
Narrator: Remember, your vote is your choice and your choice only.
Visual: The elector going through the special ballot kit at his desk.
Narrator: The envelope system is designed to protect the secrecy of the vote, while allowing election officers to verify the legitimacy of the ballots received.
Visual: Elector filling out his special ballot at his desk and putting it into the plain inner envelope. He signs the declaration on the outer envelope.
Narrator: Once you write the name of your chosen candidate, you will put the ballot in the plain inner envelope provided. Then, you'll place the inner envelope in a second envelope, which has a declaration on it that you must sign. It is an offense under the Canada Elections Act to pretend that you are someone else in order to vote.
Visual: Elector puts envelope in pre-addressed mailing envelope, and glues the envelope shut.
Narrator: Return your ballot to Elections Canada using the pre-addressed mailing envelope. You don't need a stamp because the mailing envelope is already postage-paid.
Visual: Still image of a woman standing in front of a map. Still image of an Elections Canada Returning Office. Still image of two people pointing at a map. Still image of Elections Canada office.
Narrator: If you're an elector voting in your own electoral district, your ballot will be returned to your local Elections Canada Office. If you are voting outside of your electoral district, in Canada or abroad, your ballot will be returned to Elections Canada headquarters in Ottawa.
Visual: An Elections Canada worker opens an envelope at her desk. She types at her computer. She examines the ballot. An animated version of the outer envelope appears on screen.
Narrator: When Elections Canada receives the package, we open the mailing envelope, leaving just the signed outer envelope and the unmarked inner envelope.
Visual: An animated envelope appears on screen.
Narrator: To authenticate the ballot, an election officer checks that the unique identifier on the outer envelope corresponds to your approved application. We then check that: the name and electoral district code on the outer envelope match those on the application form; you've signed the declaration on the outer envelope; and you returned only one ballot. We then update our records to show that your ballot was returned.
Visual: The election worker types at her desk.
On-screen text: Election workers can only start counting special ballots once they have completed all the required verifications, including checking whether someone might have cast two ballots. Any ballots that do not pass the verification checks will be set aside and will not be counted.
Visual: A series of animated envelopes appear on-screen.
Narrator: When it's time to count the ballots, election workers will open all of the signed outer envelopes and remove all of the unmarked inner envelopes.
Visual: The election worker places the ballot in a ballot box.
Narrator: They will then place the unmarked inner envelopes into ballot boxes and mix them up. In this way, no envelope can be traced back to the voter and the vote is kept secret.
Visual: An animated calendar appears on screen with September 20th circled. Morphs into the special ballot envelopes.
Narrator: Remember! Deadlines apply. Your ballot must arrive at Elections Canada by election day, or it cannot be counted.
Visual: Elector at his desk on Elections Canada website. Morphs into the vote-by-mail webpage.
Narrator: Plan ahead if you want to vote by mail. Apply as soon as possible and consider the time it will take for your ballot kit to arrive from Elections Canada and for it to be returned.
Visual: Three voting options appear on screen as text: by mail, on advance polling days, on election day. An 'x' appears over the advancing poll day and election day options. A checkmark appears over the by mail option.
Narrator: If you apply to vote by mail – you cannot change your mind and vote on advance polling days or on election day.
Visual: Election worker types at her desk. A close-up of Elections Canada database appears.
Narrator: Once we have approved your application to vote by mail, we mark the voters list to show that you have already asked for a ballot so you will not be able to vote another way.
Visual: A photo of an envelope appears. Switches to photo of desk with papers, ballot box and hand sanitizer. Switches to photo of Elections Canada office.
Narrator: If you are voting from within your riding and are concerned your ballot will not reach Elections Canada on time, you can drop it off at your local Returning office or at your regular poll on polling day.
Visual: Elections Canada logo appears.
Super: Visit elections.ca for the official information on voting and the health and safety measures in place or call 1-800-463-6868 (TTY 1-800-361-8935).
Narrator: Visit elections.ca for the official information on voting and the health and safety measures in place or call 1-800-463-6868 (TTY 1-800-361-8935).
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