Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Auxiliary Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on Issues Arising from the 2011 General Election and commends it to the House.
Introduction
The Auxiliary Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of the Northwest Territories on Issues Arising from the 2011 General Election was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on October 23, 2013. It is the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures’ responsibility to review the report and make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly.
The committee held public hearings with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Yellowknife on February 27 and May 27, 2014. At the latter meeting, one witness, in addition to the CEO, made presentations to the committee and provided a written submission. The committee thanks everyone who provided their comments and attended the hearings.
Review of the Chief Electoral Officer’s Recommendations and Public Concerns
The CEO’s Auxiliary Report includes a number of recommendations for amendments to the Elections and Plebiscites Act (the act) and other changes to improve electoral processes. The research and reasoning supporting these recommendations are described thoroughly in the CEO’s auxiliary report. The committee considered this information, public input and the views of fellow Members in reaching consensus on the recommendations included in the following summary.
Voter Identification Requirements
The purpose of voter identification requirements is to ensure that only eligible electors cast ballots to protect the rights of voters and candidates to fair elections. The CEO was asked to provide additional research on identification requirements following his initial report on the 2011 election. The evidence shows that the electoral process in the NWT is sound and trustworthy.
Allegations of ineligible electors casting ballots are very rare in the NWT. In the past 15 years, spanning four general elections and one by-election, there have been just two complaints and no evidence of unqualified electors actually voting. This suggests that stricter voting requirements would be a preventative measure, not a solution to a burning problem.
The committee shares concerns it heard that stringent federal identification requirements discourage qualified voters from casting their ballots. There is great disparity in the number of people with government-issued photo identification, depending on where they live. Eighty percent of Yellowknife residents have a driver’s licence or general identification card compared to 76 percent of residents of regional centres and only 44 percent of residents of the remaining 27 communities.
The smaller communities also have higher proportions of Aboriginal electors, meaning they would currently be disproportionately impacted by this type of identification requirement. This could be mitigated by a better system of issuing identification in our smaller communities and by implementing a robust vouching system that ensures both the rights of eligible voters and the integrity of the electoral system.
The committee endorses the following principles for voting requirement rules outlined by the CEO:
• Consistency: Rules should be the same
regardless of place of residence;
• Integrity: Confidence in a free and fair electoral
system is paramount;
•
Participation: It is better to punish an unqualified elector who votes than to exclude qualified electors from voting; and
• Trust: The overwhelming majority of electors
participate in good faith.
The committee also accepts the CEO’s recommendations with respect to voter identification requirements.
Recommendation 1
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the act be amended to increase the number of times an elector may vouch for another elector from one to five.
Recommendation 2
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the act be amended to prohibit candidates from vouching for another elector.
Recommendation 3
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that Elections NWT and the GNWT work together to expand the coverage of government-issued photo identification among residents of the Northwest Territories.
Polling Day
Polling day is currently the first Monday of October. In his first report on the 2011 election, the CEO suggested that having polling day on a Monday presents challenges for election administration and candidates and may impede voter turnout. The CEO recommended that polling day be changed to a Saturday or a day later in the week than Monday or be declared a holiday. The standing committee requested additional research.
However, there is very little research on the relationship between polling day and voter turnout and what does exist is inconclusive. No province or territory holds general elections on weekends, although municipalities do in three provinces.
In the absence of research supporting the argument that voter turnout is lower on Mondays, the standing committee does not support a change to the polling day at this time.
Prohibition on Broadcasting
The CEO was asked to identify options for clarifying the rules with respect to broadcasting. For example, current legislation bans a candidate from polling day promotion of his or her campaign on radio, but allows a newspaper ad to be published that day.
The committee believes that some limit on last-minute campaign advertising is reasonable and helps ensure the fairness of our elections. However, any limit should not be discriminatory, favouring one method of advertising over another, and potentially one campaign strategy over another. Moreover, the definition of election advertising must be clear, practical and easily applied, particularly in light of rapid changes in communication technology.
To these ends, the committee makes the following recommendations:
Recommendation 4
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that Sections 104 and 299 of the act be amended to prohibit election advertising on polling day and the day prior.
Recommendation 5
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the definition of election advertising in Section 237 of the act be clarified, as proposed by the CEO on page 13 of his auxiliary report.
Recommendation 6
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that, for greater clarity and certainty, the term “campaign material” be replaced by “election advertising” throughout the act.
Mr. Speaker, through you, I would ask that my colleague Mr. Hawkins continue with the reading of the report into the record.