Recommendations
1. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to refer to both “illegal practices” and “corrupt practices” as “election offences.”
2. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to provide a disqualification period of five years from the date of conviction for a candidate with a conviction under this act.
3. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to remove the voter disqualification for convictions related to election offences in other jurisdictions.
4. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to permit a designate of the Chief Electoral Officer to be present at a polling station and/or recount.
5. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to permit only one person representing the candidate or the candidate to be present during the count.
6. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to restrict the attendance of a candidate at a polling station except to vote and for brief visits during polling hours.
7. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to permit the Chief Electoral Officer to vote.
8. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to remove the requirement for a written record in the polling book for electors who decline a ballot.
9. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be
amended to permit mobile polls in a wider variety of situations.
10. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to allow that only the Chief Electoral Officer has the authority to establish an advance poll.
11. That the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to direct that the financial reporting status of only the elected Members, not all candidates, be reported to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
12. That the housekeeping amendments, which are identified by the Chief Electoral Officer on pages 22 and 23 of the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, be considered by the legislative drafter during the preparation of the other amendments.
5. Committee Recommendations
This section identifies the recommendations of the standing committee. The recommendations are organized in three sections: direction to the Chief Electoral Officer, direction for amendments to the Elections and Plebiscites Act, and topics that require additional work before direction can be established.
1. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer should:
• Improve the reporting of results on elections night, so that the elections results are accurate and released in a timely fashion. Further, the standing committee recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer should report back to the committee before the end of 2009 about the changes in policies and procedures that will be made to ensure the needed improvements.
• Improve the communications from Elections NWT, for topics such as:
o employers’ obligations;
o multiple residency buildings;
o office hours;
o special ballots;
o mobile polls; and
o signage requirements.
The standing committee recommends that communications need to be clear and consistent. More information needs to be available, including information about:
o
how to make a complaint;
o
what happens to a complaint;
o
the consequences of violating the Elections and Plebiscites Act; and
o
decisions and direction of the chief electoral officer that all affected candidates need to have.
• Improve the performance of returning officers and other officials through training.
• Increase the number of locations which have opportunities for early voting.
• Increase the use of mobile polls such as at mine sites.
Recommendations
13. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer improve the reporting of results on election night to ensure that the elections results are accurate and released in a timely fashion.
Further, the standing committee recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer should report back to the committee before the end of 2009 about the changes in Elections NWT policies and procedures that will be made to ensure the needed improvements.
14. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer improve and clarify the communications from Elections NWT for topics such as: employer’s obligations, access to multiple residency buildings, office hours of Elections NWT offices, special ballots, mobile polls, and signage requirements.
Further, the standing committee recommends that clear and consistent information be available to all candidates and the public concerning the initiation of a complaint, what happens to a complaint, and the consequences of violating the Elections and Plebiscites Act and the decisions and direction from the Chief Electoral Officer.
15. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer work to improve the performance of returning officers and other officials through training.
16. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer increase the number of locations which have opportunities for early voting and increase the use of mobile polls such as at the mine sites.
Mr. Speaker, I would now like to turn the reading of the report over to my standing committee colleague Minister Robert R. McLeod.