179-G-2021-02 – Instructions to facilitate the vote by special ballot for local electors and, in certain circumstances, to permit a local elector whose application for registration and special ballot has been accepted to vote at a polling station on polling day

Canada Elections Act

44th General Election

Instructions to facilitate the vote by special ballot for local electors and, in certain circumstances, to permit a local elector whose application for registration and special ballot has been accepted to vote at a polling station on polling day

Date of issue: August 18, 2021

Number: 179-G-2021-02

Whereas the writs for the 44th General Election were issued on August 15, 2021, with polling day on September 20, 2021;

Whereas the Canada Elections Act (“the Act”) in Division 4 of Part 11 permits electors residing in Canada to make an application for registration and special ballot and to vote by special ballot;

Whereas section 235 of the Act provides, with respect to electors residing in Canada, that an elector may vote only under the special voting rules once their application for registration and special ballot has been accepted;

Whereas under subsection 239(2) of the Act, an elector whose application for registration and special ballot was accepted by the returning officer of their electoral district—a local elector—and who returns their special ballot to the office of that returning officer shall ensure that the special ballot is received at that office before the close of polling stations on polling day;

Whereas Division 7 of Part 11 of the Act provides that local electors’ special ballots received at the office of the returning officer for their electoral district are counted at that office;

Whereas under paragraph 277(1)(d) of the Act, a local elector’s inner envelope is set aside when the outer envelope is received after the deadline prescribed by subsection 239(2) of the Act;

Whereas, in the context of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the Chief Electoral Officer expects a significant increase of applications for registration and special ballot from local electors;

Whereas this increase could cause delays in the receipt of outer envelopes at returning officers’ offices and that, in those particular circumstances, the Chief Electoral Officer wants to facilitate the vote by special ballot for local electors by giving them the option to return their outer envelope at their polling station, on polling day;

Whereas, despite the above, this option cannot be offered in remote polling stations located in designated electoral districts and, consequently, the Chief Electoral Officer wants to preserve the right to vote of local electors served by those remote polling stations;

And whereas section 179 of the Act provides the following:

179. For the purpose of applying this Part to, or adapting any provision of this Part in respect of, a particular circumstance, the Chief Electoral Officer may issue any instructions that he or she considers necessary in order to execute its intent.

Therefore, pursuant to section 179 of the Act, the Chief Electoral Officer issues the following instructions:

1. These instructions apply during the 44th General Election.

2. Subject to paragraph 7, on polling day, the returning officer shall make available to local electors, at each polling station, a ballot box for the reception of outer envelopes.

3. Subject to paragraph 8, an elector whose application for registration and special ballot has been approved by the returning officer of their electoral district may, for their special ballot to be counted, forward their special ballot to the returning officer's office by giving the special ballot to an election officer in a polling station of the electoral district, on polling day, before the close of the polling station.

4. The election officer to whom a local elector gives, in accordance with paragraph 3, their outer envelope shall deposit the latter in the ballot box mentioned at paragraph 2.

5. At the close of the polling station, an election officer who is assigned to the polling station shall, in full view of the candidates or their representatives who are present, and in accordance with operational instructions that the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary to ensure the integrity of the vote, take the measures set out in those instructions with regard to outer envelopes deposited in the ballot box mentioned at paragraph 2. These measures shall include, among other things, the requirement for an election officer to deliver in person to the office of the returning officer the outer envelopes received in that ballot box.

6. For the purposes of paragraph 277(1)(d) of the Act, no inner envelope shall be set aside by reason that the outer envelope was received at the office of the returning officer after the close of the polling stations, on polling day, if that outer envelope was received by an election officer in accordance with paragraph 3.

7. A returning officer shall not make available to electors a ballot box for the reception of outer envelopes at polling stations in locations for which the Chief Electoral Officer is of the opinion that it is impracticable for an election officer to deliver in person to the office of the returning officer the outer envelopes that would be received in that ballot box. The Chief Electoral Officer shall publish the list of these locations on his Internet site.

8. An elector whose application for registration and special ballot has been accepted by the returning officer of their electoral district may, on polling day, before the close of polling stations, make a request on the prescribed form to a designated election officer to annul their application for registration and special ballot, where:

(a) the elector goes to a polling station established in a location appearing on the list published in accordance with paragraph 7; and

(b) the elector's name appears on the list of electors for that polling station.

9. The election officer who receives a request that complies with paragraph 8 shall accept the request and annul the application for registration and special ballot made by the elector.

(Original Signed)

Stéphane Perrault
Chief Electoral Officer