ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
DATE: July 9, 1996
DEPT. FILE NO.:
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: City Clerk, in consultation with the Director of
Legal Services
SUBJECT: Amendment to Election Procedures By-Law
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the City Clerk or Chief Election Officer be authorized to
establish voting divisions as provided by Section 75 of the
Vancouver Charter.
B. THAT the Register of Resident Electors of the city be the most
current available Provincial List of Voters prepared under the
Elections Act, existing 90 days prior to the time a general
local election is to be held.
C. THAT the order of names of candidates on the ballot be
arranged alphabetically by their surnames, as provided by
Section 78 of the Vancouver Charter.
D. THAT the procedures for the use of automated voting machines,
attached to this report as Appendix I, be approved.
E. THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to bring
forward the necessary by-laws to implement the amendments to
election procedures and the use of automated voting machines as
approved by Council this day.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager recommends approval of A, B, C, D and E.
COUNCIL POLICY
City elections are conducted in accordance with the Vancouver Charter,
Part I, Electors and Elections, and Part II, Other Voting and related
City By-laws.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to recommend to Council the amendment of
the Election Procedures By-law to:
- authorize the City Clerk, as Chief Election Officer, to
establish voting divisions;
- alter the date the current Provincial List of Voters,
prepared under the Elections Act, is to be adopted
as the register of resident electors of the city;
- determine the order of names of candidates on the ballot
in accordance with section 78 of the Vancouver Charter,
(i.e. alphabetically) rather than by lot;
and to provide for the use of automated voting machines as provided by
Section 74 of the Vancouver Charter.
BACKGROUND
The Local Elections Reform Act (Bill 35) was adopted by the Provincial
Government in July 1993. The Act amended Parts I and II of the
Vancouver Charter pertaining to the conduct of elections and other
voting in the city.
The City Clerk, as Chief Elections Officer, carries the largest
responsibility for the conduct of elections. Most of these
responsibilities are set out under the provisions of Part I and II of
the Vancouver Charter.
City Council has, however, a number of statutory responsibilities and
may exercise some discretion to recognize specific needs and to
establish rules and procedures for specific circumstances as provided by
the Charter.
In September, 1993, Council adopted the following by-laws:
- Voting Divisions By-law (No. 7168) - to define and
prescribe the Voting Divisions in which electors o f
the city shall vote;
- Elections Procedures By-law (No. 7169) - to provide for
discretionary procedures for the conduct of elections and
other voting;
- Mail Ballot Procedure By-law (No. 7170) - to authorize and
regulate voting by mail and for the registration of electors
to vote by mail.
DISCUSSION
The City has conducted one general local election, (held November 20,
1993) since the adoption of the new election legislation and related
City by-laws. The experience gained by this election has shown that the
new legislation and the procedures adopted by Council have served the
needs of the electorate well. There are, however, amendments that
should be introduced to further improve the election administration and
proceedings.
In addition, the Provincial Election, held May 28, 1996 and the
resulting election day registrations, have impacted the state of the
current Provincial Voters List and the preferred timing of its adoption
as the City Register of Electors.
The City Clerk recommends that Council adopt the necessary by-laws to
amend the following election procedures:
A. Establishment of Voting Divisions
Section 75 of the Vancouver Charter provides that City Council must, by
by-law, establish voting divisions or authorize the City Clerk, as Chief
Election Officer, to establish voting divisions.
Voting Divisions are used to determine where an elector is permitted to
vote, and are intended to ensure voting is conducted in an efficient and
convenient manner. As City elections are conducted "at-large" the
allocation of voting divisions does not impact who an elector may vote
for. Voting divisions are seen as an administrative "tool" used to
divide electors into manageable groups.
The current voting divisions were adopted by Council, by by-law, on
August 23, 1993 and require adjustment to reflect the change in city
population since that time.
Section 12 of the Vancouver Charter requires that election by-laws be
adopted at least eight weeks before the first day of the nomination
period (i.e. this year, before August 6, 1996). This time frame does
not allow sufficient time for City staff to receive the current
Provincial Voters List, (after being updated following the recent
Provincial election) in order to prepare it for adoption as the City
register of resident electors. The number and location of registered
electors must be determined before voting division boundaries can be
reviewed and amended.
To address this concern, it is recommended the Elections Procedures
By-law be amended to authorize the City Clerk to establish voting
divisions. This will allow the establishment of voting divisions to be
done after the number and location of registered electors has been
finally determined, following the receipt of the Provincial Voters List
from Elections B.C. and the conduct of the City's own voter registration
in September.
B. Adoption of Provincial Voters List
Section 32 of the Vancouver Charter provides that Council may, by
by-law, adopt the most current available Provincial list of voters
prepared under the Election Act as the Register of Resident Electors of
the city.
Section 3 of the Election Procedure By-Law currently provides that the
Provincial list be adopted 120 days prior to the day a general local
election is to be held. Under normal circumstances, this time frame
would be suitable. However, Elections B.C. will not have completed
processing the election day registrations from the recent Provincial
Election by that date, and therefore, if adopted at that time, the list
would not be the most current provincial list available before the
upcoming general local election.
It is therefore recommended the Election Procedure By-Law be amended to
provide that the most current Provincial List of Electors be adopted 90
days prior to the time a general local election is to be held.
C. Order of Names on Ballot
Section 78 of the Vancouver Charter provides for the names of candidates
to appear on the ballot arranged alphabetically by surname. Section 79
provides that Council may, by by-law, permit the order of names on the
ballot to be determined by lot.
In 1993, the City Clerk recommended, and Council approved, the order of
names be determined by lot. With the number of candidates seeking
election for city office, the resulting random order made it difficult
for voters to locate candidates names on the ballot. This proved
confusing for voters, and resulted in numerous complaints from voters at
the polls on election day. It is therefore recommended the city return
to the practice of arranging the names of candidates alphabetically by
their surnames, as provided by Section 78.
D. Use of Automated Voting Machines
Section 74 of the Vancouver Charter provides that Council may, by
by-law, provide for the use of automated voting machines. The by-law
must include:
(a) procedures for how to vote, to be used in place of those
established by section 91;
(b) the form of ballot, if this is to be different from the form of
ballot otherwise required by this Act;
(c) procedures, rules and requirements regarding the counting of
votes, if these are to be different from those established by
Division 13.
In order for a by-law under this section to be valid, it must be
approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs before it is finally
adopted by Council.
City Council adopted the procedures for the use of the OPTECH III-P
Balloting System on October 25, 1988. These procedures have been used
successfully for the conduct of the last three general local elections
(in 1988, 1990 and 1993).
The transitional provisions of the Local Elections Reform Act (1993)
permitted the City to conduct the 1993 election under the authority
provided by the previous section of the Charter. A by-law is now
required, however, for the conduct of the 1996 and future elections
using the automated voting machines.
A draft by-law for the use and procedures of automated voting machines
is attached as Appendix I. This by-law has been based on the previous
procedures adopted by City Council, updated to reflect the new election
legislation adopted in 1993 and the new optical scan voting system that
will be used in the City's 1996 general local election.
If Council approves these procedures, the draft by-law will be submitted
to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for approval before final adoption
by Council.
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