Canada: Trudeau government to mail every household in Canada questions on electoral reform | National Post

The Trudeau government is mailing postcards to every Canadian household this month to find out how people feel about the way they elect MPs, the National Post has learned. More than 13 million full-colour postcards were being printed up this week which, when they land in mailboxes at the end of the month, will encourage Canadians to go to a website — mydemocracy.ca or mademocratie.ca — and answer questions about their democratic values. The websites are “parked” right now with Internet web hosting company GoDaddy.com but will go live no later than Dec. 1, said a senior government official. The online consultations, which will close Dec. 31, will be the last of three extensive rounds of consultations on electoral reform under way since the spring. This means the Trudeau government is expected to declare its preference for how, if it all, to change the way MPs are elected early in the new year.

Canada: ‘Not a fool-proof system,’ Elections Prince Edward Island says of online vote | CBC News

This month Elections P.E.I. sent out more than a hundred thousand voter information packages to Islanders registered to vote in the plebiscite on electoral reform. Each letter contains a unique personal identification number (PIN) which can be used to vote online or over the phone. The only other information needed to cast a ballot using that PIN is the person’s date of birth. Inevitably, some PINs have been delivered to the wrong people. All that might be needed to use that person’s PIN to cast a ballot could be a visit to their Facebook page. “This is not a fool-proof system,” said chief electoral officer Gary McLeod. “And that’s one of the risks that we have right now.” It is illegal under P.E.I.’s Plebiscite Act to vote for someone else, McLeod pointed out. Offenses can lead to fines of up to $2,000 or imprisonment for up to two years. “We can track where the vote is put on from— if somebody notices that somebody’s voted and it wasn’t them – we can actually go in and track where that vote came from” using their IP address, McLeod said.

Canada: Meet ‘the tabulator’: Able to count 300 paper ballots a minute | CBC

When the official vote count begins for the P.E.I. plebiscite, it will be a computer that tallies up the votes and declares the winner. This is P.E.I.’s first foray into electronic voting and the first time those votes will be counted and processed by a computer, instead of by people. “If we had to count all those ballots manually I think we’d be there for months,” said Harry Neufeld, who’s co-ordinating the audit team for the plebiscite. He’s the former chief electoral officer of British Columbia and has been involved in several electoral reviews in other provinces. When voting ends on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 pm, the ballot boxes will be collected from across the Island and taken to Elections P.E.I. office where they’ll be secured overnight.

Canada: Trudeau taking heat for walking back electoral reform | iPolitics

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to have opened the door to maintaining Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system, despite having promised the 2015 federal election would be the last to use it. In an interview with Le Devoir Ottawa correspondent Marie Vastel to mark the end of his government’s first year, Trudeau said he no longer sees the same appetite for electoral reform he did when the Conservatives were in power. “Under Stephen Harper, there were so many people unhappy with the government and their approach that people were saying, ‘It will take electoral reform to no longer have a government we don’t like’. But under the current system, they now have a government they’re more satisfied with and the motivation to change the electoral system is less compelling,” he said.

Canada: Electoral reform committee wraps up cross-Canada tour in Iqaluit Monday | CBC

The special committee on electoral reform has spent the last several months gathering expert testimony and hearing opinions from voters across the country, but all that will come to an end this Monday. A dozen members of Parliament are set to attend the meeting in Iqaluit, Nunavut, where voter turnout in the last Federal election spiked sharply but still fell far short of the national average. “We’re very interested in how to ensure a higher voter turnout rate,” said Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, who chairs the committee. In particular, Scarpaleggia says he wants to hear what voters in Nunavut would think of a proportional representation system, where every vote would “count.”

Canada: British Columbia Election Act challenged in Supreme Court of Canada | CBC

A section of B.C.’s Election Act that restricts advertising is being challenged this morning in the Supreme Court of Canada. The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association is challenging the law, arguing it restricts freedom of expression in this province, and that it should include an exception for third parties spending less than $500 on election advertising. Section 239 of B.C.’s Election Act says election advertising sponsors must register with the chief electoral officer. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is an intervener in the case. Lawyer Laura Track said the association is concerned the law is too broad.

Canada: Why Can’t Canadian Expats Vote Forever (Like Americans)? | Robert Waite /Huffington Post Canada

I have lived in Canada for 30 years and have never missed a U.S. election. Indeed, I have already voted this year, casting my ballot electronically in the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, from my home computer keyboard in Ottawa, Ontario. Until recently the process was much more cumbersome — your local town clerk received a letter from you expressing your desire to vote absentee; she sent you the ballot by mail with instructions; you filled it out, had it notarized, and mailed it back. Indeed, the one time my vote failed to register, in 1976, I was a news correspondent in Warsaw, Poland. My ballot arrived in the mail eight days after the election. No one seems to know how many Americans live in Canada. Estimates vary from 900,000 to 2 million full- and part-time residents: The 2011 census says that 372,575 people claim American “ancestry”.

Canada: U.S. stays with with controversial e-voting, but Canada still shy | IT World Canada News

At the best of times U.S. elections are heated, and these aren’t necessarily the best of times. We’ve already seen the discovery of data breaches at the Democratic party and candidate Hillary Clinton. This week one technology writer warned that the November U.S. presidential election “can be rigged and sabotaged, and we might never even know it happened.” He was referring to the use in 10 U.S. states of touch screen voting machines that don’t have paper backups, which some experts worry are vulnerable to malware.Even if cyber attackers do nothing more than play with electronic voter registration systems it could cause backups at voting stations, causing voters to leave and potentially affecting outcomes. For these and other reasons Canadian electoral officials are still cautious about adopting electronic voting here. Some municipalities are using machine-readable paper voting systems, but touch screen or online voting in federal and provincial elections is still taboo. “I have no plans to introduce online voting for 2019,” Marc Mayrand, Canada’s chief electoral officer told Parliament’s special committee on electoral reform in July. “I think there’s still a lot of research to be done, and there are many considerations. That’s what I would like to see the committee doing in its work, addressing some of the key considerations and giving us some direction on where we should go and how should we proceed to explore and test online voting at some point.

Canada: Marc Mayrand urges modernization of Canada’s outdated electoral process | The Globe and Mail

Canada’s outdated way of conducting federal elections has reached a tipping point and must be modernized to meet the needs and expectations of voters, says the chief electoral officer. The Canada Elections Act is based on how elections were conducted in the 19th century, when communication with the regions was limited, oversight was minimal and election administration was local, Marc Mayrand told a news conference Wednesday. “It is a process that is entirely manual, rigid and slow.” In last fall’s election, Mayrand said long lineups at advance polls were the result “of unduly rigid and cumbersome procedures,” frustrating Canadians who expect the voting process to “align with their lifestyles and personal or family situations.” “I strongly believe that federal election administration has reached a tipping point and that action is required now to ensure we can meet electors’ changing needs and expectations.”

Canada: Citizenship only requirement to vote, say two expatriates denied ballots | National Post

Citizenship – and nothing more – guarantees the right to vote, say two disenfranchised Canadian expatriates whose legal struggle to reclaim their votes is headed to the Supreme Court of Canada in a case affecting more than one million non-resident Canadians. Gillian Frank, a Toronto native, and Jamie Duong, a Montreal native, wanted to vote in the 2011 general election but, since both work at U.S. universities, were refused online ballots under a 1993 Canada Elections Act rule that bars citizens from voting if they’ve lived outside Canada for more than five years. The rule was loosely enforced until 2007, when the then-Conservative government said expats’ short-term visits back home no longer reset the five-year clock, as had been the practice.

Canada: Elections P.E.I. working on electoral reform education campaign | The Guardian Charlottetown

The plebiscite countdown is on. Prince Edward Islanders will be going to the polls in just three months to vote on whether they would like to change P.E.I.’s voting system, and Elections P.E.I. has been touring the province to educate Islanders about the upcoming plebiscite on electoral reform. After all, there will be many new elements in this vote that many Islanders may never have experienced, including online and telephone voting as well as a ranked ballot. Paul Allen, director of communications for Elections P.E.I., says some Islanders have told him they had no idea a vote on electoral reform was scheduled for this fall. That’s why Elections P.E.I. was tasked with mounting an education campaign – to try to help Islanders understand the five different options they will be asked to choose from on the plebiscite ballot.

Canada: Studies show few differences among voting systems | iPolitics

Though the special committee on electoral reform will make recommendations on a number of subjects — online and mandatory voting among them — it’s the decision on whether to switch to a proportional voting system that’s paramount, Université de Montréal political science professor André Blais told the committee Wednesday. “I will argue that the most important decision you have to make is whether to adopt some form of PR or not,” Blais told members. Reluctant to state his personal preference, Blais instead used his committee appearance to present the results of his extensive empirical research comparing outcomes under proportional and majoritarian systems, such as single member plurality or first-past-the-post system currently used in Canada. More specifically, he described the results of four studies he did with other researchers and gave the committee five conclusions they could apply in their deliberations. The studies controlled for a number of factors, but Blais stressed there’s no causal certainty and that that they didn’t look at specific systems.

Canada: Political scientists recommend against electoral reform referendum, online voting | iPolitics

The Special Committee on Electoral Reform resumed its deliberations Monday after a two-week break, hearing from three political science professors who all opposed the option of a national referendum on electoral reform. Though Ken Carty (professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia), Brian Tanguay (professor at Wilfred Laurier University), and Nelson Wiseman (professor at the University of Toronto) expressed different views on which electoral system is the best for Canada, they were in complete agreement on the politically charged question of whether a referendum on electoral reform should be held, expressing a consensus against a national plebiscite. … All three also agreed that security concerns about online voting remain too great to try implementing it at the federal level any time soon. “The preponderance of experts are opposed to it, because…you can hack the system,” Wiseman told the committee, citing the recent hack of the Democratic National Committee as an example of a threat and e-voting “snafus” during the 2012 NDP leadership race, but adding that he could support its limited use for those with mobility issues.

Canada: Why Canada’s top court should weigh in on electoral reform | The Globe and Mail

The House of Commons special committee on electoral reform has started hearings into alternatives to the first-past-the-post system that has been at the core of Canadian democracy since Confederation. No matter which model it ends up proposing, significant changes to how MPs are selected and, accordingly, how our federal government is formed must be referred to the Supreme Court of Canada and a referendum should be held. Any major electoral reform proposal should first be referred to the top court to guarantee that it is within the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament to adopt. Only this will ensure the legality of proposed changes.

Canada: Opposition parties offered control of electoral reform committee | CBC

The Liberal government has offered to give two opposition parties control over a legislative committee that will study overhauling the province’s electoral system. The Liberals say they’re willing to give up their majority on the committee to persuade the opposition Progressive Conservatives to join the consultations on new voting systems, a lower voting age, online voting, and other possible changes. Premier Brian Gallant said in question period “We’re not even seeking a majority of the composition” of the eight-member committee, the first time the Liberals have made that concession.

Canada: Dates and rules set for electoral reform vote in P.E.I. | The Charlottetown Guardian

For the first time ever, Prince Edward Islanders will have the option to vote online, by telephone or by traditional paper ballot in the upcoming plebiscite on electoral reform. The dates and rules for the plebiscite have been set and approved by executive council. Voting will be held over a 10-day period, from noon on Saturday, Oct. 29 until 7 p.m. Monday Nov. 7. Those who choose to vote online or by telephone can do so within this voting period. Every eligible voter will be issued a PIN (personal identification number) to use for Internet or telephone ballots.

Canada: Young voter turnout jumped sharply in 2015 contest, Elections Canada reports | The Canadian Press

Elections Canada says the turnout of young voters in last October’s election was up sharply from 2011. The agency says voter participation among those aged 18 to 24 rose by 18.3 percentage points to 57.1 per cent, up from 38.8 per cent in 2011. That’s the biggest jump for that age group since the agency began tracking demographic data in 2004. Among those eligible to vote for the first time, the percentage was 58.3 per cent. The official turnout rate overall was 68.3 per cent, with voters age 65 to 74 recording a 78.8 per cent participation rate. Voter participation on aboriginal reserves was also up, with 61.5 per cent of registered voters casting ballots, up 14 points from 2011, the agency says.

Canada: Referendum on electoral reform would be fraught with complications |CBC

Britain’s referendum five years ago on electoral reform was, in the words of one learned observer, “rich on demagoguery and unsubstantiated claims with no empirical foundation.” Another called it “disgraceful.” Opponents of adopting the alternative vote (AV) method proposed for Britain claimed the new system would cost more and thus leave less money for things like health care: “She needs a new cardiac facility NOT an alternative voting system,” was the tagline of an advertisement that featured the picture of a newborn infant. An ad by the Yes side suggested the current system made MPs lazy. And after a Conservative critic suggested AV would force governments to negotiate with extremist fringe parties, a Liberal-Democrat proponent accused the No side of participating in a “Goebbels-like campaign.” Turnout for the referendum, which the No side won convincingly, was 42 per cent, more than 20 points lower than in the United Kingdom’s general elections in 2010 and 2015.

Canada: Elections chief Marc Mayrand stepping down ahead of Liberal reforms | CBC

Canada’s chief electoral officer is stepping down from his post after nearly 10 years on the job — a tenure marked by public spats with the former Conservative government over its controversial Fair Elections Act and its attempt to block veiled Muslim women from voting. Marc Mayrand, who assumed the role in 2007, informed the Speaker of his decision Monday, citing the need for a new chief ahead of the Liberal government’s push for ambitious electoral reform. He will step down on Dec. 28, 2016. “I have concluded that it would be preferable to leave my position at the end of the year to allow my successor the necessary time to assume the responsibility and guide the future direction of Elections Canada,” Mayrand said in a statement. “Given Elections Canada’s ambitious electoral services modernization plans and the government’s consideration of fundamental reforms to our electoral system, I believe the early appointment of a successor to lead Elections Canada well ahead of the next general election is essential and should not be delayed.”

Canada: Liberals agree to give majority to Opposition on electoral reform committee | The Globe and Mail

The Liberals have backed down from their plan to hold the reins on a committee to study electoral reform in Canada, handing over the balance of power to the opposition and agreeing to give the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party a voice at the table. It is a major reversal from the government, which pledged to change the first-past-the-post voting system before the next federal election, but faced increasing criticism that it was trying to rig the system in the Liberal Party’s favour. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef told the House of Commons on Thursday the government will support an NDP motion to give opposition members more say on the special committee – yet to be struck – to study voting systems and propose changes for Canada.

Canada: Trudeau government creating committee to study electoral reform and replace first-past-the-post system | National Post

The Trudeau government is creating a long-awaited special parliamentary committee on electoral reform and proposing to hold town halls in every riding to discuss the issue. “We deserve broad, representative politics, a stable government and an opportunity to shape our democracy,” Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef said in announcing the plan. “That’s why our government is determined to meet our commitment that 2015 was the last election to use a first-past-the-post system.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised during last fall’s election campaign to create a committee to examine electoral alternatives and report back with recommendations within 18 months.

Canada: Liberals move on electoral reform as deadline looms | Toronto Star

The Liberals have set aside less than seven months to consult Canadians on a brand new voting system. A notice posted online late Tuesday proposes striking a special electoral reform committee — where the Liberals would hold a majority — to hold consultations over the next several months. The committee would have to report back to the House of Commons no later than Dec. 1. The Liberals promised to recommend new legislation by May 2017, but Elections Canada has warned the clock is ticking to have a new system in place by 2019. “(The committee will) identify and conduct a study of viable alternative voting systems, such as preferential ballots and proportional representation, to replace the first-past-the-post system, as well as to examine mandatory voting and online voting,” a notice posted online Tuesday reads.

Canada: Supreme Court will hear appeal on voting rights for long-term expats | The Globe and Mail

Long-term expats denied the right to vote in federal elections expressed delight Thursday after the Supreme Court of Canada said it would take on their case. At issue is part of the Canada Elections Act that disenfranchises citizens who have lived abroad for longer than five years. “The time has come to restore expats’ right to vote from abroad,” said Jamie Duong, one of the plaintiffs in the case. Duong and Gillian Frank, both of whom live in the United States, challenged the constitutionality of the legislation, enforced only under the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

Canada: Financial fears prompt Halifax to seek back-up for electronic voting in 2016 elections | Metro News

Halifax Regional Municipality is looking for a back-up company to handle telephone and electronic voting in the next municipal election after fears that the company that holds the contract is financially unstable. A tender posted online Thursday seeks bids from companies that could administer telephone and e-voting for October’s 2016 municipal and school board elections, and any special elections after that till April 2020. But the winning bidder’s services will only be needed if the company that already has a standing offer — Dartmouth-based Intelivote — is unable to do the job.

Canada: Voting-machine salesman barred from contacting city hall over lobbying infringement | Ottawa Citizen

An American voting-machine salesman has been barred from contacting anyone at Ottawa City Hall for a month, the city’s integrity commissioner announced Tuesday, imposing his first discipline ever under Ottawa’s lobbying rules. Bill Murphy is the director of sales for Boston-based Clear Ballot, which sells equipment for running elections. Integrity commissioner Robert Marleau has forbidden Ottawa’s city government from having anything to do with him until mid-March, on the grounds that Murphy lobbied the city to buy Clear Ballot’s machines and software without registering as a lobbyist as the city’s bylaws require. The city’s lobbying registry has been in effect since September 2012. If you’re trying to get the city to make a decision that’s to your financial benefit, generally speaking, you need to record any contacts with city officials using a website Marleau oversees.

Canada: Liberals’ no-referendum stance on electoral reform appears to soften | Ottawa Citizen

Another Liberal MP responsible for electoral reform won’t absolutely rule out a national referendum to change how Canadians vote. “It’s not something that we’re ruling in or ruling out,” Mark Holland, parliamentary secretary to Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, told reporters Wednesday. His remark follows a recent, similar comment from Monsef. Compare that with the statement by Government House Leader Dominic Leblanc in late December that seemed to categorically reject the possibility: “Our plan is not to have a national referendum. Our plan is to use Parliament to consult Canadians,” said Leblanc. “That’s always been our plan, and I don’t have any reason to think that’s been changed.”

Canada: Dropping Nova Scotia’s voting age? Change proposed by Liberal advocates | Globalnews.ca

Encouraging youth to get out and vote is something Canada has been trying to do for years, but one group in Nova Scotia is hoping they can change the rules to get people as young as 16 out casting ballots in provincial elections. Evan Price is president of the Truro Liberal Association, a group lobbying to drop the voting age in Nova Scotia from 18 to 16 years old. “This is a conversation that’s revisited now and again and I think it’s time we take another look at it,” Price said.

Canada: Candidate changes name to appear as ‘none of the above’ on by-election ballot | Daily Mail

Canadians will be able to vote for ‘none of the above’ in an upcoming by-election after a candidate legally changed his name. Father-of-two Sheldon Bergson paid $137 to officially change his name to Above Znoneofthe in time for an Ontario election on February 11. As names on the ballot papers are listed alphabetically by their surname first, he will appear underneath the list of other candidates, as Znoneofthe Above. The candidate explained that he had changed his name to try and offer fed up voters an alternative to the main parties.

Canada: Manitoba in full election mode as blackout kicks in before spring provincial election | CBC

Manitobans may notice fewer government announcements over the next three months and it’s all about ensuring a fair election, says Elections Manitoba. On Wednesday restrictions on government announcements go into effect which ban government agencies, Crown corporations, or elected officials from using public funds or a public office to promote political parties. “There are no government ads or notices allowed in this 90-day period with a few exceptions,” said Alison Mitchell, manager of communications with Elections Manitoba. Exceptions include emergency announcements in cases where the public’s safety or health is at risk or if government is required to publicize information at a particular time during the 90-day period for things like requests for tenders or employment, she said.

Canada: Dartmouth phone/Internet voting firm fights ACOA claim | The Chronicle Herald

The judicial stage is set for a dispute between Dean Smith’s Intelivote Systems Inc. and a $1.3-million claim filed by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Smith’s Dartmouth company claims the amount sought by ACOA represents portions of “non-repayable amounts” it received from the federal agency in four instalments in recent years, according to documents reviewed Thursday at Nova Scotia Supreme Court. A defence filed by Intelivote on Dec. 21 denies an assertion by ACOA the company has ceased operations and, as a result, owes the agency the $1.3 million. “The defendant has become insolvent, resulting in an event of default as defined in the terms and conditions of the agreements,” according to a statement of claim filed by ACOA.