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→C. Federal Elections
While federal residency requirements do exist, they are more relaxed than those applicable to BC provincial elections. A person may vote only once, in the area in which she is “ordinarily resident”. This is defined in much the same way as “resident” is defined in section 32 of BC’s ''Election Act''. A person who moves between the enumerator’s visit and the day of the election could be forced to vote in the former riding if ordinarily resident there when the enumeration occurred.
Provisions of the ''Canada Elections Act'' deny the vote to most citizens who have resided outside of Canada for more than five years. The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in ''Frank v Canada (Attorney General)'', 2019 SCC 1 confirmed that Canadian citizens who have resided outside of Canada for five or more years are generally not permitted to participate in Canadian elections. To regain the right to vote, these citizens must return to live in Canada.
All voters must present one piece of government-issued ID with a photograph and residential address before being allowed to vote. If a voter cannot provide the required photo ID, he or she may still be allowed to vote if he or she does one of two things (s 143):
These requirements pose significant challenges to low-income individuals who may have no form of official identification. Further difficulties are created by the rule that an individual may only vouch for one other individual and the requirement that the voucher lives and is on the elector’s list in the same polling station as the intended vouchee.
The provisions relating to vouching, as described above, were brought into force by the ''Fair Elections Act '' on December 2014. Under the new provisions, voters who have identification but cannot prove residence will be allowed to sign an oath attesting to where they live, which must then be corroborated by the oath of another voter. However, this leaves voters who have no identification whatsoever with little recourse. This controversial measure could significantly inhibit the ability of low-income citizens and students to vote.
The constitutionality of these requirements was challenged in the British Columbia Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal in ''Henry v Canada (Attorney General)'', 2010 BCSC 6102014 BCCA 30. In that case, the court found that the legislation was inconsistent with the electoral rights guaranteed in section 3 of the ''Charter'', but constituted a reasonable limit prescribed by law and was demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society under section 1 of the ''Charter''. In the Ontario, the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students have challenged this legislation in the Ontario Superior Court on the ground that it violates section 3 of the Charter. The provisions relating to vouching, as described above, were brought into force by the ''Fair Elections Act'' on December 2014. Under the new provisions, voters who have identification but cannot prove residence will be allowed to sign an oath attesting to where they live, which must then be corroborated by the oath of another voter. However, this leaves voters who have no identification whatsoever with little recourse. This controversial measure could significantly inhibit the ability of low-income citizens and students to vote. Consequently, in June 2014, the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students announced their intention to challenge this legislation in the Ontario Superior Court on the grounds that it violates section 3 of the ''Charter''.
Many other provisions of the ''Canada Elections Act'', such as an employee being entitled to receive time off work to cast a ballot, provisions for people with disabilities, and balloting procedures are very similar to BC provincial regulations and thus are not repeated here. Further inquiries can be sent to Marc Mayrand, the current Chief Electoral Officer, at:
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'''Note:''' Canada's federal election laws were recently overhauled by the controversial ''Fair Elections Act'', which received royal assent in June 2014. Most provisions of the Fair Elections Act have come into force. Major changes to the ''Canada Election Act'' in June 2014 included provisions intended to increase penalties for offences, reduce voter fraud, and empower political parties to drive voter turnout. Specific changes include removing vouching in favour of an oath system where a voter has identification but cannot prove current residence; moving investigations from Elections Canada to the Director of Public Prosecutions; limiting the powers of Elections Canada; increasing donation limits; adding constraints on robocalls; and some changes to third-party advertising.
== D. Municipal Elections ==