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Survey of Electors Following the 42nd General Election

8. Service Experience

Overall, electors were very satisfied with the level of service provided to them by Elections Canada and with the voting experience in general. Polling stations at advance polls or on election day were almost unanimously deemed to be located in suitable buildings, and wait times were acceptable. Almost all respondents were also satisfied with the language in which they were served by staff.

8.1 Satisfaction with Polling Location

Overall, voters who went to a polling station to vote either at an advance poll or on election day felt that the building was visible and suitable. Eighty-one percent (81%) indicated that the polling station was very visible from the street, twelve percent (12%) indicated that it was somewhat visible, four percent (4%) indicated that it was not very visible, and two percent (2%) not at all visible from the street. There are no significant differences among subgroups (Figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1: Visibility of the Building Used as a Polling Station

Figure 8.1: Visibility of the Building Used as a Polling Station
Text description of "Visibility of the Building Used as a Polling Station"

Base: Voters only.

Similarly, almost all (97%) voters who voted at a polling station felt that the building was a suitable location, with eighty-two percent (82%) indicating that it was very suitable and fifteen percent (15%) indicating that it was somewhat suitable (Figure 8.2). Only a small percentage of voters (3%) declared that the building was not very suitable (2%) or not suitable at all (1%). Of those who said that the building was not suitable, the two most-cited reasons were that the polling station was too crowded and that there was an issue with physical accessibility.Footnote 28 No significant differences were observed among subgroups.

Figure 8.2: Suitability of the Building Used as a Polling Station

Figure 8.2: Suitability of the Building Used as a Polling Station
Text description of "Suitability of the Building Used as a Polling Station"

Base: Voters only.

Once inside the building, almost all (94%) voters felt that there were enough signs to help them find where to go for voting. There are no significant differences among subgroups (Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3: Electors' Perception of Sufficient Signage at Voting Place

Figure 8.3: Electors' Perception of Sufficient Signage at Voting Place
Text description of "Electors' Perception of Sufficient Signage at Voting Place"

Base: Voters only.

8.2 Satisfaction with the Voting Experience

In the end, almost all (96%) voters were satisfied with their voting experience, with just over four-fifths (81%) indicating that they were very satisfied and fifteen percent (15%) somewhat satisfied. Few voters reported being not very satisfied (2%) or not at all satisfied (1%). There are no significant differences among subgroups (Figure 8.4).

Figure 8.4: Satisfaction with the Voting Experience

Figure 8.4: Satisfaction with the Voting Experience
Text description of "Satisfaction with the Voting Experience"

Base: Voters only.

Of those voters who went to a polling station to cast their ballot in an advance poll or on election day, over nine-tenths (92%) felt that the waiting time before voting was reasonable. The vast majority (97%) of voters indicated that they did not have a difficult time voting, with eighty-eight percent (88%) stating that they found it very easy and nine percent (9%) stating that they found it somewhat easy. A small proportion of voters said that it was somewhat difficult (2%) or very difficult (1%) to vote. When asked about why it was difficult to vote, respondents cited the waiting time (35%), the location of the polling station (29%) and the identification requirement (23%) as the main reasons. These results are similar to the 2011 electors survey, where ninety-two percent (92%) of voters found the voting process very easy and seven percent (7%) somewhat easy.

Overall, voters were almost unanimously (97%) satisfied with the services provided by Elections Canada staff, with eighty-six percent (86%) indicating that they were very satisfied and eleven percent (11%) indicating that they were somewhat satisfied. There are no significant differences among subgroups (Figure 8.5).

A small proportion of voters reported that they are not very satisfied (2%) or not at all satisfied (1%). Satisfaction levels with Elections Canada staff at the polling station are virtually unchanged since 2008, with eighty-seven percent (87%) of voters saying that they are very satisfied and eleven percent (11%) saying that they are somewhat satisfied. Interestingly, there was no significant variation in satisfaction with Elections Canada staff based on demographic group or whether the elector voted on election day, at an advance poll or at a local Elections Canada office.

Figure 8.5: Satisfaction with Elections Canada Staff at Polling Station

8.5: Satisfaction with Elections Canada Staff at Polling Station
Text description of "Satisfaction with Elections Canada Staff at Polling Station"

Base: Voters only.

8.3 Bilingual Service

Virtually all electors were satisfied with the official language in which they were served, with ninety-nine percent (99%) indicating that they were satisfied (Table 8.1). The satisfaction with the official language in which voters were served remains virtually unchanged since 2008, with ninety-nine percent (99%) indicating that they were satisfied. Almost four-fifths (78%) of electors were served in English, with just over one-fifth (21%) served in French. Only a small portion (7%) of voters living in Québec indicated that they were served in English and an even smaller one percent (1%) of electors living in the rest of Canada indicating that they were served in French.

While almost all electors whose mother tongue is English were served in English, a lower percentage (88%) of electors whose mother tongue is French were served in French. Despite this difference, there was no significant disparity in the level of satisfaction of electors based on mother tongue.

Table 8.1: Bilingual Service and Satisfaction
QS6. What is the first language that you learned and that you still understand? Q65. In which language were you served? Q66. Were you satisfied with the official language in which you were served?
Satisfied (n=2,476)
English
(n=1,959)
French
(n=540)
English 99% 1% 100%
French 11% 88% 97%
Other 86% 13% 99%
Overall 78% 22% 99%

Base: All voters.

  • Foreign-born Electors: Foreign-born electors were more likely to have been served in English (91%) than Canadian-born electors (76%). This is not the case for foreign-born electors who are living in the province of Québec, since seventy percent (70%) of them were served in French and only twenty-five percent (25%) were served in English.

Footnote 28 Due to small sample size (n=66), percentages have been omitted.