Bill C-274

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-274
	An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (electronic voting)
R.S., c. E-2; R.S., c. 27 (1st Supp.), c. 27 (2nd Suppl.); 1989, c. 28; 1990, cc. 16, 17; 1991, cc. 11, 47; 1992, cc. 1, 21, 51; 1993, cc. 19, 28; 1994, c. 26; 1995, c. 5; 1996, cc. 26, 35	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	*1. The Canada Elections Act* is amended by adding the following after section 125:**
	ELECTRONIC VOTING
Definitions	125.1 (1) In this section,
``electronic voter'' « électeur votant par téléphone »	``electronic voter'' means a person who is on the official list of electors and who is registered to vote by an electronic process pursuant to this section;
``electronic voter application'' « demande d'inscription au vote par téléphone »	``electronic voter application'' means an application in the prescribed form to be registered as an electronic voter;
``electronic voting process'' « scrutin par téléphone »	``electronic voting process'' means the process devised pursuant to subsection (3) for casting a vote by entering an electronic code and a voting number by calling a specially assigned telephone number;
``telephone'' « appareil de téléphone »	``telephone'' means a telephone in a telephone system capable of making telephone calls to the polling division in which the voter in entitled to vote;
``voting number'' « code d'électeur »	``voting number'' means a ten-digit number generated by a random electronic process preceded by two digits to identify the province in which the vote will be cast and assigned to an electronic voter that serves to show
	(a) that an electronic vote is entered by a registered electronic voter,
	(b) in which election the vote is cast, and
	(c) in which electoral district and polling division the voter is qualified to vote,
	and that is stored electronically to validate and record an electronic vote, but in such a way that the identity of the voter may not be determined from the number.
Entitlement to vote electronically equal to ballot	(2) A person who is registered as an electronic voter in accordance with this section and whose name appears on the revised list of electors may, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, vote by the electronic voting process, and the vote of such a person cast by the electronic voting process shall be kept secret and be included in the count of votes cast in the polling division in the election in the same manner as a vote cast by the marking of a ballot.
Process to be established	(3) The Chief Electoral Officer shall cause to be devised and tested an electronic voting process that must be ready for use in any general election or by-election held after December 31, 1998.
Application	(4) A person who is qualified to be an elector in an election to which this section applies and who wishes to cast a vote by an electronic voting process may submit an electronic voter application to the returning officer for the electoral district in which the person is qualified to vote, to be received by the returning officer no later than the commencement date set for the revision of the preliminary list of electors pursuant to section 71.14.
Application form supplied	(5) A person qualified to vote at an election may request the returning officer or any enumerator who comes to the residence of the person to provide an electronic voter application, and the returning officer or enumerator shall provide the application to the elector forthwith.
Enumerators supplied with forms	(6) Every returning officer shall supply the enumerators in the electoral district with a sufficient supply of electronic voter applications.
Registration as electronic voter	(7) A returning officer who receives an electronic voter application shall enter the name of the applicant on a list of electronic voters and give to an applicant applying in person or send by ordinary mail to an applicant who applies by mail
	(a) a confirmation that the voter is registered as an electronic voter;
	(b) a local telephone number accessible without charge or a toll free number that the voter may use to cast an electronic vote;
	(c) a voting number in a sealed envelope to be entered at the appropriate time in the electronic voting process when asked to do so by a recorded voice;
	(d) a list showing a number for every candidate and instructions on how to vote for a candidate by entering the candidate's code number when asked to do so at the appropriate stage in the process by a recorded voice; and
	(e) a notice that the registration does not constitute enumeration, that the voter's electronic vote will not be valid unless the voter's name appears on the revised list of electors and that it is the responsibility of the voter to be on that list.
Elector voting electronically	(8) Every elector
	(a) who has submitted an electronic voter application to the returning officer,
	(b) who has been registered as an electronic voter for an election and been given an electronic voting number by the returning officer, and
	(c) whose name appears on the revised list of electors for the polling division in which the elector is qualified to vote as a registered electronic voter
	may vote by the electronic voting process during the hours that the poll is open in the election.
List provided to revising officer	(9) No later than the third day following the commencement date set for the revision of the preliminary list of electors pursuant to section 71.14, the returning officer shall provide to the revising officer a list of those persons who have been registered to vote electronically, and the revising officer shall enter the words ``electronic voter'', or an abbreviation thereof prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer, by the name of every such person on the revised list of electors.
No ballot to electronic voter	(10) No poll clerk shall provide a ballot to a person who is shown on the list of electors as being a person registered as an electronic voter.
Electronic voter may not vote by ballot	(11) No elector entitled to vote electronically at an election shall cast a vote by ballot in the election.
Electronic voting procedure	(12) In voting electronically, an electronic voter must, by using any telephone, the provision of which is the responsibility of the voter
	(a) call the telephone number given to the voter by the returning officer; and
	(b) following the other instructions given by the returning officer, enter the voting number and then the numerical code for the candidate for whom the voter wishes to cast a vote.
Votes sent to deputy returning officer	(13) At the close of the poll, the returning officer shall deliver or transmit to the deputy returning officer for each polling division the number of votes cast for each candidate by electronic voters on the revised list for the polling division and the deputy returning officer shall include those votes in the return of votes cast.
Publication of notices re electronic voting	(14) Every returning officer shall
	(a) as soon as practicable after the issue of the writ for an election
	(i) publish in three consecutive issues of a daily newspaper circulating in the area in which the election is to be held, and
	(ii) post at conspicuous places throughout the electoral district and at every polling station
	a notice in the prescribed form that electronic voting is available, describing how voters register to vote electronically and giving a local or toll-free telephone number at which voters may obtain information on electronic voting; and
	(b) as soon as practicable after the close of nominations
	(i) publish in three consecutive issues of a daily newspaper circulating in the area in which the election is to be held, and
	(ii) post at conpicuous places throughout the electoral district and at every polling station
	a notice giving the code number to be used for every candidate when casting an electronic vote.
Application	(15) This section applies only to a by-election or general election in respect of which
	(a) the Chief Electoral Officer has certified to the Governor in Council prior to the issue of writs for the election that an electronic voting process is established and available for use in the election; and
	(b) the Governor in Council has ordered that the section shall apply to the election.
Subsequent elections	(16) If the Governor in Council has ordered that the section shall apply to a general election, it shall apply to all subsequent by-elections and general elections.
Exemptions	(17) In the first general election to which this section applies, the Governor in Council may exempt its application from one or more specified electoral districts either
	(a) initially, on the grounds that the Chief Electoral Officer has advised that the process cannot be provided for those districts in time for the general election, or
	(b) during the period between the issue of the writs and five days before polling day, upon receiving the certificate of the Chief Electoral Officer that an electronic voting process cannot be provided for those districts for the general election,
	and the absence of the availability of electronic voting in one or more electoral districts does not invalidate an election.
No reimburse- ment for costs	(18) Nothing in this section requires anyone to provide to a voter any telephone or telephone service or reimbursement to a voter for a telephone or telephone service or call.

Bill C-274

BILL C-274

ELECTRONIC VOTING