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Application of the New Voter Identification Procedures under Bill C-31 for the September 17 Federal By-elections in Quebec – Evaluation Synthesis

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INTRODUCTION

Background

With the coming into force of Bill C-31, electors are now required to prove their identity and residential address before voting in federal elections. This can be done by providing either: (a) one piece of government-issued photo identification showing both the elector's name and residential address, or (b) two pieces of identification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, each of which establishes the elector's name and at least one of which establishes his or her residential address. If an elector is unable to provide the required documents, he or she may instead take an oath and be vouched for by another elector whose name is on the list of electors for the same polling division, and who has the necessary identification to establish his or her identity and residential address.

As these requirements were in effect for the September 17, 2007 by-elections in Quebec (held in the Outremont, Roberval–Lac-St-Jean and St-Hyacinthe–Bagot districts), Elections Canada has developed an evaluation framework to determine:

  • How voters satisfied the voter identification requirements;
  • If the new procedures disrupted the timing and flow of voting;
  • If the training provided enabled election workers to efficiently apply the new procedures; and
  • If the communication campaign generated elector awareness and understanding of the new requirements.

In order to answer these questions, Elections Canada commissioned specific surveys with electors and election officers and undertook other data collection activities, as outlined in the document Evaluation Framework of the C-31 New Requirements. A copy of this document is presented as Appendix B to this report.

Objectives

The objective of this secondary analysis and synthesis is to bring together the key research results from across the various lines of evidence identified in the evaluation framework and to relate these back to the key outcomes in Elections Canada's Bill C-31 Implementation Logic Model (a copy of which is included as Appendix B to this report). In particular, the analysis will determine the extent to which the following results have been achieved:

  • Eligible voters understand the voter ID and vouching requirements that must be met to cast a vote;
  • Media outlets/representatives understand the voter ID and vouching requirements; and
  • Poll site staff understand and know how to apply the procedures for verifying eligibility of voters.

This report begins with an executive summary outlining key findings and conclusions. The body of the report presents a detailed synthesis of the available data and a section devoted to major conclusions and recommendations stemming from the evaluative synthesis.

Unless otherwise noted, all results are expressed as a percentage.