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Survey of Election Officers Following the 42nd Federal General Election

1. Profile Of Election Officers

This section presents findings regarding the profile of election officers who worked during the 42nd general election.

Past Experience

A third of the respondents in 2015 (32%) had worked as an election officer during the previous federal general election. This proportion was higher in 2011 (53%) and in 2008 (45%). Worth nothing, respondents from British Columbia and the Territories are significantly less likely than those from the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta to have worked as election officers in the past election.

Table 1: Working in the previous federal general election, by region
Q2: Did you work as an election officer during the previous federal general election, which was held in May 2011? Region
ATL (n=346) QC (n=924) ON (n=1385) MAN (n=154) SASK (n=115) AB (n=39)* BC (n=423) TER (n=115) Overall (n=3503)
%
Yes 35 35 33 36 29 38 25- 17- 32
No 63 62 64 62 66 61 72+ 78+ 65
Don't know 2 4 4 2 5 1 3 5 3

* Caution should be used when interpreting results due to small sample.

Respondents who worked at a polling station located in an Aboriginal reserve were significantly less likely than staff at other polling stations to have worked during the 2011 elections.

Table 2: Working in the previous federal general election, by polling station
Q2: Did you work as an election officer during the previous federal general election, which was held in May 2011? Polling Station
Abo. Reserve (n=282) Sen. / LT Care (n=797) Stud. Res. (n=466) Other (n=1958) Overall (n=3503)
%
Yes 24- 35 30 32 32
No 72+ 63 67 65 65
Don't know 4 2 3 3 3

The respondents who worked at an advance poll (43%) were significantly more likely than those who worked at an ordinary poll (31%) to have also worked during the 2011 federal general election. Further, respondents who worked at both advance and ordinary polls were more likely to have worked during the previous general election than were ordinary poll staff.

Central poll supervisors (CPS) were significantly more likely to have worked in the 2011 federal general election (62%) than were deputy returning officers (39%), information officers (18%), registration officers (21%), and poll clerks (26%). Information officers were the least likely to have had the same experience. Worth noting is that both of the above findings are consistent with those from 2011.

Table 3: Working in the previous federal general election, by type of poll and staffing position
Q2: Did you work as an election officer during the previous federal general election, which was held in May 2011? Type of Poll Staffing Position
Adv.
(n=232) 		Ord. (n=2997) Adv. + ord. (n=224) Mobile (n=49)* DRO
(n=1261) 		IO
(n=421) 		CPS (n=245) RegO (n=315) PC (n=1261) Overall (n=3503)
%
Yes 43+ 31- 36 35 39 18- 62+ 21- 26 32
No 53- 66+ 61 63 56 80+ 34- 77+ 71 65
Don't know 4 3 3 1 4 3 4 2 3 3

* Caution should be used when interpreting results due to small sample.

Of the respondents who reported having worked in the 2011 federal general election, the largest proportion, just over 4 in 10, indicated that they had worked as deputy returning officers (40%), with significantly higher proportions in Saskatchewan (62%) and Alberta (56%). This is followed by those who worked as poll clerks (28%) and central poll supervisors (11%). Worth noting, deputy returning officers had the highest returning position in 2011 as well.

Table 4: Position in 2011 election, by region
Q3: Which position(s) did you occupy in 2011? Region
ATL (n=120) QC (n=320) ON (n=454) MAN (n=56) SASK (n=33)* AB (n=15)* BC (n=104) TER (n=20)* Overall (n=1122)
%
Central poll supervisor 10 6 13 16 3 7 16 9 11
Information officer 6 7 6 5 3 2 9 8 6
Registration officer 2 2 4 11 0 9 6 0 4
Deputy returning officer 40 44 37 46 62+ 56+ 35 34 40
Poll clerk 31 18- 36+ 11 27 25 27 34 28
Revising agent 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Secretary 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 6 2
Special ballot coordinator 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other / DK / Refused 11 15 5 12 5 3 7 9 9

* Caution should be used when interpreting results due to small sample.

Of those who worked during the 2011 general election, a significantly high proportion of deputy returning officers (46%) worked at a seniors' residence or long-term care polling station in 2015. Further, a significantly high proportion (13%) of central poll supervisors worked at student residence polling stations in 2015.

Table 5: Position in 2011 election, by polling station
Q3: Which position(s) did you occupy in 2011? Polling Station
Abo. Reserve (n=70) Sen. / LT Care (n=276) Stud. Res. (n=146) Other (n=670) Overall (n=1162)
%
Central poll supervisor 6- 6- 13+ 11 11
Information officer 10 2 10 6 6
Registration officer 9 3 7 3 4
Deputy returning officer 31- 46+ 36 40 40
Poll clerk 33 30 23 28 28
Revising agent 1 2 2 1 1
Secretary 0 1 1 2 2
Special ballot coordinator 2 2 1 0 0
Other/DK/Refused 9 7 6 9 9

Of respondents who reported having worked in the 2011 general election, significantly high proportions of central poll supervisors (20%) and registration officers (13%) worked at both advance and ordinary polls in 2015.

For all types of staffing positions, the majority of respondents occupied the same positions in 2015 as they did in 2011.

Table 6: Position in 2011 election, by type of poll and staffing position
Q3: Which position(s) did you occupy in 2011? Type of Poll Staffing Position
Adv.
(n=101) 		Ord. (n=922) Adv. + ord. (n=81) Mobile (n=17)* DRO
(n=497) 		IO
(n=75) 		CPS (n=153) RegO (n=66) PC (n=331) Overall (n=1122)
%
Central poll supervisor 7 10 20+ 4 4 0 53+ 9 4 11
Information officer 5 7 4 2 4 47+ 2 10 3 6
Registration officer 6 2 13+ 1 2 0 4 29+ 2 4
Deputy returning officer 44 40 44 54+ 61+ 22 29 28 22 40
Poll clerk 31 29 11 30 21 5 6 9 57+ 28
Revising agent 2 1 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 1
Secretary 1 2 0 0 2 2 1 3 3 2
Special ballot coordinator 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other /DK / Refused 4 10 8 6 7 20 6 13 9 9

* Caution should be used when interpreting results due to small sample.

Just under half (48%) of election officers during the 2015 general election reported to have had experience working in a provincial election. This proportion represents a decrease from the 2011 results (52%).

Table 7: Election officer in a provincial election, by region
Q4: Did you ever work as an election officer in a provincial election? Region
ATL (n=346) QC (n=924) ON (n=1385) MAN (n=154) SASK (n=115) AB (n=39)* BC (n=423) TER (n=115) Overall (n=3503)
%
Yes 58+ 55+ 47 30- 47 56 41 21- 48
No 41 44 51 63 51 42 56 77 50
DK/Refused 1 1 2 7 2 2 4 2 2

* Caution should be used when interpreting results due to small sample.

In terms of polling station types, officers who worked at a polling station located on an Aboriginal reserve (29%) were significantly less likely to have worked as an election officer in a provincial election.

Table 8: Election officer in a provincial election, by polling station
Q4: Did you ever work as an election officer in a provincial election? Polling Station
Abo. Reserve (n=282) Sen. / LT Care (n=797) Stud. Res. (n=466) Other (n=1958) Overall (n=3503)
%
Yes 29- 47 43 48 48
No 67+ 51 55 50 50
DK/Refused 4 2 2 2 2