Proposed amendments to the Election Act will
pave the way for the use of modern technology to make voting in provincial
elections faster and easier, encourage young people to vote and introduce other
improvements to the electoral process.
The proposed changes to voting administration
rules are the most significant in nearly 25 years. They would give Elections BC
the ability to take advantage of new technology, such as vote-counting
equipment to tabulate paper ballots, electronic voting books to more quickly
record who has cast their ballot and ballot printers to provide flexibility for
people voting outside their electoral district.
Other proposed changes are aimed at
increasing voter participation. The chief electoral officer will have the
ability to maintain a list of future voters for youth aged 16 and 17 years, so
they will be already registered when they reach the voting age of 18.
To ensure the general voters list is accurate
and up to date, Elections BC will have better access to name, address and
birthdate information held by the Province. This will supplement drivers’
licence data, which has been in use for two decades.
Amendments would also allow Elections BC to
extend the campaign period, for unexpected elections outside the fixed date
election calendar, by up to 10 days to allow election officials and candidates
to better prepare for a vote. The current 28-day period is one of the shortest
in Canada and can lead to higher administrative and campaign costs for
elections that were not anticipated by Elections BC.
The proposed amendments would implement most
of the recommendations in the chief electoral officer’s report to the
legislative assembly in May 2018 for changes to the Election Act, including all
four priority recommendations.
Learn More ... CLICK HERE
to read the 2018 Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on Recommendations for
Legislative Change
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