Monday, June 28, 2004
From Elections Canada
Is someone allowed to eat a ballot?
Eating a ballot, not returning it or otherwise destroying or defacing it constitutes a serious breach of the Canada Elections Act. These rules are part of a system of unobtrusive checks and balances that are intended to protect the integrity of the voting process and Canadians' trust in the integrity of the electoral system. The relevant procedures provided by the Act are summarized below.
Before the deputy returning officer gives a person a ballot, he/she initials it. A numbered counterfoil is attached to each ballot. The elector must thereafter proceed directly to the voting compartment, mark the ballot paper, fold it as instructed by the deputy returning officer and return it to the deputy returning officer (the form of the ballot and the voting procedure are governed by ss. 116 and 150-53 of the Canada Elections Act).
When the voter returns the ballot, the deputy returning officer verifies that it is the same one that was handed to the elector. The deputy returning officer then removes and destroys the counterfoil, and returns the ballot to the elector to deposit in the ballot box or, at the elector's request, deposits it in the ballot box.
At the counting of the votes after the close of the polls, the deputy returning officer must determine, before the candidates' representatives present, that all the ballots the returning officer initially provided are accounted for. This entails counting the number of ballots in the box including spoiled ballots, and the number of ballots that were not used. If the deputy returning officer is unable to account for all ballots, the election results at that polling station can be contested on the basis of irregularity.
According to section 167(2)(a) of the Canada Elections Act, "no person shall wilfully alter, deface or destroy a ballot". Subsection 480(1) of the Act also provides that every person is guilty of an offence who, with the intention of delaying or obstructing the electoral process, contravenes this Act.
These provisions, based on practices that date from the 19th century, are essential to ensure that electors can exercise their right to vote in conditions that reflect the importance of this aspect of the democratic process and that the count of the votes is accurate. Canada's system to control all ballots is recognized worldwide as being at the forefront of measures aimed at preventing electoral fraud.
Is someone allowed to eat a ballot?
Eating a ballot, not returning it or otherwise destroying or defacing it constitutes a serious breach of the Canada Elections Act. These rules are part of a system of unobtrusive checks and balances that are intended to protect the integrity of the voting process and Canadians' trust in the integrity of the electoral system. The relevant procedures provided by the Act are summarized below.
Before the deputy returning officer gives a person a ballot, he/she initials it. A numbered counterfoil is attached to each ballot. The elector must thereafter proceed directly to the voting compartment, mark the ballot paper, fold it as instructed by the deputy returning officer and return it to the deputy returning officer (the form of the ballot and the voting procedure are governed by ss. 116 and 150-53 of the Canada Elections Act).
When the voter returns the ballot, the deputy returning officer verifies that it is the same one that was handed to the elector. The deputy returning officer then removes and destroys the counterfoil, and returns the ballot to the elector to deposit in the ballot box or, at the elector's request, deposits it in the ballot box.
At the counting of the votes after the close of the polls, the deputy returning officer must determine, before the candidates' representatives present, that all the ballots the returning officer initially provided are accounted for. This entails counting the number of ballots in the box including spoiled ballots, and the number of ballots that were not used. If the deputy returning officer is unable to account for all ballots, the election results at that polling station can be contested on the basis of irregularity.
According to section 167(2)(a) of the Canada Elections Act, "no person shall wilfully alter, deface or destroy a ballot". Subsection 480(1) of the Act also provides that every person is guilty of an offence who, with the intention of delaying or obstructing the electoral process, contravenes this Act.
These provisions, based on practices that date from the 19th century, are essential to ensure that electors can exercise their right to vote in conditions that reflect the importance of this aspect of the democratic process and that the count of the votes is accurate. Canada's system to control all ballots is recognized worldwide as being at the forefront of measures aimed at preventing electoral fraud.
# posted by Die Brucke @ 9:50 AM 
