open Secondary menu

179-G-2019-06 – Spoiling or setting aside the special ballot that is not accompanied by the elector's declaration

Canada Elections Act

43rd General Election

Instructions for the purpose of spoiling or setting aside the special ballot that is not accompanied by the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer and signed by the elector

Date of issue: September 24, 2019

Number: 179-G-2019-06

Whereas Divisions 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Part 11 of the Canada Elections Act (“the Act”) each permit eligible electors to make an application for registration and special ballot and to vote by special ballot;

Whereas sections 212, 213, 227, 238, 257 and 258 of the Act essentially provide that an elector shall vote by special ballot by writing the name of the candidate of his or her choice on the ballot, placing the ballot in the inner envelope and sealing it, signing the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer, and placing the inner envelope and the declaration – if it is not on the outer envelope – in the outer envelope and sealing it;

Whereas some electors may, by error, omit to follow this procedure;

Whereas sections 213, 242 and 258 of the Act essentially provide that if the special ballot is incapable of being used, the elector shall return it to the election officer or unit election officer, who shall mark it as a spoiled ballot and give the elector another special ballot;

Whereas the special ballot that is not accompanied by the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer and signed by the elector – which declaration generally appears on the outer envelope provided by the Chief Electoral Officer – cannot be verified pursuant to the process set out in section 267 of the Act or in sections 276 and 277 of the Act, as the case may be, and must therefore be set aside;

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 a general election, where the elector who votes by special ballot omits:

(a) to place the inner envelope containing his or her ballot with the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer and signed by the elector; or

(b) to place his or her ballot in an inner envelope and to place that inner envelope with the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer and signed by the elector.

2. Where he or she determines that the circumstances described at paragraph 1 apply to an elector who goes to the office of a returning officer – or to a polling station established under Division 2 or 5 of Part 11 of the Act – to receive his or her special ballot, the election officer or unit election officer shall:

(a) advise without delay the elector that, as a result of an omission described at paragraph 1(a) or (b) of these instructions, the elector’s special ballot is incapable of being used;

(b) make note without delay that a special ballot that is incapable of being used was deposited in the ballot box used at the office of the returning officer or at the polling station;

(c) apply without delay, with respect to the elector, the procedure set out by subsection 213(4), 242(1) or 258(3) of the Act, as the case may be; and

(d) at the time provided for the opening of the ballot box used at the office of the returning officer or at the polling station, recover the special ballot or the inner envelope – that was deposited in the ballot box – that was not placed with the declaration prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer and signed by the elector and:

(i) write “spoiled” on its back and place it in the envelope supplied for that purpose, where it is a special ballot; or

(ii) without opening it, write “spoiled” on its back and place it in the envelope referred to in the preceding sub-paragraph, where it is an inner envelope.

3. Where he or she determines that the circumstances described at paragraph 1 apply to an elector in respect of whom the procedure set out at paragraph 2 was not applicable or could not be applied, the special voting rules administrator shall instruct the special ballot officers to set aside the special ballot or the inner envelope, unopened, and to follow the procedure described in subsection 267(3) of the Act.

4. Where he or she determines that the circumstances described at paragraph 1 apply to an elector in respect of whom the procedure set out at paragraph 2 was not applicable or could not be applied, the returning officer shall advise the special voting rules administrator and instruct the election officer referred to in section 273 of the Act to set aside the special ballot or the inner envelope, unopened, and to follow the procedure described in subsection 277(3) of the Act.

5. These instructions supersede the following instructions: “Instructions of the Chief Electoral Officer issued pursuant to section 179 of the Canada Elections Act for the purpose of setting aside the special ballot of an elector who did not place the ballot in an outer envelope or in an inner and an outer envelope and for the purpose of providing a new special ballot to the elector”, issued on October 13, 2015.

(Original Signed)

Stéphane Perrault
Chief Electoral Officer