Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide its report on the review of the report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the Administration of the 2007 Election and commends it to the House.
1. Introduction
The Chief Electoral Officer of the NWT is required to table a report on the administration of the general election in 2007. That report was tabled on May 29th, 2008.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is tasked with the responsibility to review the report and make recommendations to the Members of the Legislative Assembly. The standing committee met with the NWT Chief Electoral Officer at a public meeting on December 15, 2008. The standing committee also asked all candidates, electoral officers and MLAs to provide their views. This public discussion and consideration of views supports the Legislative Assembly in its desire to continually improve the processes used to administer territorial elections.
2. Submissions From The Candidates And
Official Agents
The standing committee invited all returning officers, official agents, and all candidates to review the report of the Chief Electoral Officer and to identify any concerns or comments about the administration of the election. Six persons, excluding MLAs, responded and identified the following concerns.
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Some communities -- those in electoral districts with more than one community -- did not have a returning officer in their community. This
meant that the community residents were not able to vote in the office of the returning officer, known as early voting, and some people were concerned that this seemed unfair.
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The office hours for the returning officer were not effectively communicated.
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There were not enough special mobile polls.
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The special ballot process is too complicated and too slow.
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Candidates are not required to be residents of the electoral district.
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The legislation permits candidates to assist
voters at the voting booth with voting and this does not seem to be fair. Friends may assist and some see this as unfair.
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The rules about signage are unclear and
inconsistently enforced.
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There were not enough communications
activities and information materials from the Chief Electoral Officer.
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There were issues related to the location of signs and campaign activities.
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MLAs should not have preferred access to the voters’ list.
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Old campaign material, such as signs, which are re-used are in another election should be assigned a monetary value.
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There were concerns that each voter’s
residency in the electoral district was not confirmed because it is not clearly required in the legislation.
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There were concerns that the voter
identification processes were not consistently applied.
The submissions from the candidates and official agents are attached in Appendix A.
3. Members’
Concerns
All MLAs were invited to a meeting to discuss the report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Mr. Krutko, Mr. Jacobson, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Lafferty, and Mr. Bromley attended in addition to the regular committee members. This section provides a brief overview of the concerns discussed by Members.
Electoral Officials
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Requiring the electoral officials to be
resident in the electoral district has limited hiring options unnecessarily.
Early Voting Opportunities/Unequal Access
to Early Voting
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There was disappointment that some
candidates did not have a returning officer located in the community and, therefore, did not have early voting opportunities other than an advance poll.
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In some communities the office hours of the returning officer were not clear to community residents.
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In some communities access to the office of the returning officer was not barrier-free.
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Candidates’ agents were not permitted to witness the votes or the counting of early votes.
Student Voting/Special Ballots
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There were some people who did not
understand the process and could not easily find the instructions.
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There were some mail-in, special ballots which were not counted for a variety of reasons.
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Special ballots required the use of mail services, which are too slow for a short election period.
Signage - Labelling And Locations
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There were irritations about the
requirements to relocate signage which was placed near polling stations and/or office of the returning officer, especially when the signage was located before the polling location and/or office of the returning officer had been determined.
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There was concern that Elections NWT did not communicate clearly and consistently about signage rules to all candidates well in advance.
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There was concern that Elections NWT only responded to complaints and did not assume a more active role in enforcement activities.
Mobile Polls
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Mobile polls are appreciated and their use should be increased. Members suggested
that mobile polls should be used at the mine sites.
Voters’ List
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The list had too many inaccuracies, even after revisions.
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The list was not provided to candidates in a useable format.
Criminal Records Checks
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There was concern that some candidates had a criminal record. This did not affect their eligibility to be a candidate because the law does not disqualify them.
Residency Of Voters
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Most Members were satisfied with the
existing one-year residency requirement and did not want change.
Voter Identification
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There were concerns about the amount of time it takes to administer the oath for electors who were not on the list, especially when there are a large number of these voters.
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Some Members suggested that, at some point, voter identification should be required for every voter, such as at enumeration or at the polling station.
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There were concerns that each voter’s
residency in the electoral district was not confirmed because it is not required in the legislation.
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There were concerns that the voter
identification processes were not consistently applied.
Reporting Of Expenses
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Some Members wanted signs from
previous elections to be given a monetary value.
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Some Members wanted to be able to incur official expenses before the start of the election period.
Enforcement Issues
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Members expressed concerns about the difficulties related to enforcement.
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Some candidates have not yet filed their expense reports and there are no consequences.
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Elections NWT seemed unable to
thoroughly investigate complaints.
Access To Apartments And Condo
Buildings
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Members wanted to see improvements to the candidates’ access to these buildings, which often remained limited even after the Chief Electoral Officer notified the building owners about their obligations.
Candidates Assisting At The Polls
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Some Members consider that candidates should be prohibited from assisting voters at the booth because many people perceive this as unfair.
Communications/Information From The
Elections Office
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Members were concerned that communications and information from Elections NWT was not proactive and consistent. An example of this included the lack of clear direction provided to apartment building owners. Another example is the lack of clear direction provided about the requirements for identifying sponsorship information on signage.
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Members were concerned that returning officers need better training and information resources.
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Some Members indicated that there was poor organization at some polling stations which minimized the privacy of the booths.
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Some Members wanted improved
communications with voters about their electoral district designation, especially if there are changes.
Elections Night Reporting
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Members want accurate results on
election night to be reported more quickly than was done on the 2007 election night.
At this time I’d now like to pass the reading of the report on to the deputy chair, which is Mr. Kevin Menicoche, the Member for Nahendeh.