Bill 106 2012

An Act to amend the Election Act to prevent electoral fraud by requiring electors to provide certain kinds of proof, by providing for independent reviews of the permanent register of electors and by making other amendments

Note: This Act amends the Election Act.  For the legislative history of the Act, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

   1.  (1)  Subsection 4.2 (1) of the Election Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Proof of identity, etc.

   (1)  Subject to subsection (1.1), the Chief Electoral Officer shall,

  (a)  determine what document or class of document constitutes, for the purposes of each of the provisions listed in subsection (2),

           (i)  proof of a person's identity,

          (ii)  proof of a person's place of residence, and

         (iii)  proof of a person's Canadian citizenship; and

  (b)  publish the determination on a website on the Internet.

Same

   (1.1)  In determining what document or class of document constitutes proof for the purposes of subclauses (1) (a) (i), (ii) and (iii), the Chief Electoral Officer shall comply with the following rules:

    1.  Proof of a person's identity shall be in a form of identification that contains a photograph of the person.

    2.  Proof of a person's Canadian citizenship shall be in the form of a Canadian passport, Canadian-issued birth certificate, Canadian citizenship card or other form of identification that is considered to be valid proof of Canadian citizenship by the Government of Canada.

   (2)  Paragraph 7 of subsection 4.2 (2) of the Act is repealed.

   2.  Subsection 14 (4) of the Act is amended by striking out "except when a ballot is marked under section 55" at the end.

   3.  Paragraph 1 of subsection 17.1.2 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

    1.  The application shall be accompanied by proof of the elector's identity, place of residence and Canadian citizenship in accordance with section 4.2.

   4.  The Act is amended by adding the following section under the heading "Permanent Register of Electors":

Independent review of register

   17.7  (1)  The Chief Electoral Officer shall, within six months after the Prevention of Electoral Fraud Act, 2012 receives Royal Assent, and every five years thereafter, appoint an independent party to conduct a review of the permanent register of electors.

First review

   (2)  The independent party appointed under subsection (1) shall conduct a review of the permanent register of electors within six months after being appointed.

Report of review

   (3)  The Chief Electoral Officer shall report the findings of the independent party to the Assembly through the Speaker before December 31 of each year in which the independent party conducts a review.

   5.  Subsection 22 (1.1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Proof of identity, etc.

   (1.1)  The elector or other person shall submit, together with the statutory declaration, proof of the elector's identity, place of residence and Canadian citizenship in accordance with section 4.2.

   6.  Subsections 32 (2) and (2.1) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Attendance of scrutineers

   (2)  Unless otherwise provided in this Act and subject to subsection (3), scrutineers are permitted to attend at any place where an elector may apply to have his or her name added to the permanent register of electors, the list of electors or the polling list under this Act or at any place where an elector may vote in an advance poll or on polling day under this Act.

Review of documents

   (2.1)  For greater certainty, scrutineers are permitted to review documents provided by an elector as proof of his or her identity when applying to have his or her name added to the permanent register of electors, the list of electors or the polling list under this Act or in order to vote in an advance poll or on polling day under this Act.

   7.  Subsections 45 (4) and (7) of the Act are repealed.

   8.  (1)  Subparagraph 2 ii of subsection 45.2 (4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

           ii.  the elector has presented proof of his or her identity, place of residence and Canadian citizenship in accordance with section 4.2, subject to paragraph 4, and

   (2)  Subparagraph 3 ii of subsection 45.2 (5) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

           ii.  the elector has presented, in the application to vote by special ballot, proof of his or her identity, place of residence and Canadian citizenship in accordance with section 4.2, and

   (3)  Subparagraph 3 ii of subsection 45.2 (6) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

           ii.  the elector has presented, in the application to vote by special ballot, proof of his or her identity, place of residence and Canadian citizenship in accordance with section 4.2, and

   9.  Clause 45.13 (4) (a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

  (a)  include proof of the elector's identity and Canadian citizenship in accordance with section 4.2;

   10.  Section 47 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Voters added to list

   (4.1)  The ballot given to an elector whose name is added to the polling list under section 47.1 shall contain a number or other identifier that corresponds to the number or other identifier on the certificate of addition filled out under subsection 47.1 (3.1).

   11.  Section 47.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Certificate of addition

   (3.1)  When a person's name is added to the list and the poll record under subsection (3), the deputy returning officer or revision assistant shall fill out a certificate of addition, which shall contain a number or other identifier, as evidence of the addition of the person's name, and shall seal the certificate in an envelope.

.     .     .     .     .

Notice

   (6)  The Chief Electoral Officer shall, within 14 days after polling day, provide a list to each candidate in an electoral district of the names and addresses of every person in the electoral district whose name was added to the list and poll record on polling day.

   12.  The heading before section 51 and section 51 of the Act are repealed.

Commencement

   13.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   14.  The short title of this Act is the Prevention of Electoral Fraud Act, 2012.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Election Act to deal with the proof that an elector must provide in a number of circumstances, including when applying to have his or her name added to the permanent register of electors.  Rules are added relating to what constitutes proof and a requirement for proof of citizenship is added.

Section 17.7 is added to the Act to require the Chief Electoral Officer to appoint an independent party to conduct a review of the permanent register of electors every five years.

The Act is amended to allow scrutineers to attend at any place where an elector may apply to have his or her name added to a list of electors or where an elector may vote in an advance poll or on polling day.

The Act is also amended to require returning officers and revision assistants to complete a certificate of addition when an elector's name is added to the polling list on polling day.