Voters arrive at a polling station on Election Day in Halifax on April 28.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Elections Canada says it will conduct a comprehensive internal review of its special ballot processes after several ridings experienced issues in the last election, including Terrebonne, Que., where the results are being challenged in court.
The 77-page report was tabled in the House of Commons on Monday. Overall, it said that about 1.2 million electors successfully used the special ballot system, which allows people to vote by mail or in person at an Elections Canada office outside of advanced polls or election days. However, it said some ballots were improperly handled and excluded from the official result.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault said that his agency needs to ensure its processes and controls have evolved along with the expanded use of special ballots.
“In light of the issues with administering special ballots at local offices, I launched an internal review of our special ballot process,” he told reporters Monday. The review will look at training, control mechanisms and processes.
He said he expects it to be completed this fall and changes to be implemented as quickly as possible in order to prepare for the next election.
In Quebec riding that Liberals won by a single vote, this woman’s Bloc ballot was sent back
The highest-profile issue with special ballots happened in Terrebonne, Que. Initially, Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste won the riding, but after the validation process it went to Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné.
On May 10, a judicial recount reported the Liberals had won the riding by one vote. Later that month, a voter in the riding said she had her mail-in ballot returned to her on May 2, apparently because of an incorrect postal code. Because it was after election day, it was too late for her to vote in person.
The Bloc filed a Quebec Superior Court challenge of the result, which is set to begin in October.
Discussing the Terrebonne case, the report said that some return envelopes were printed with the incorrect postal code for the local Elections Canada office address.
Other issues with special ballot counts happened in several ridings. Most involved boxes of ballots being mistakenly kept or found while closing local Elections Canada offices, according to the report. None of them affected election results, it said.
Robyn Urback: We need a by-election in Terrebonne
The report covered all aspects of the election’s administration, which cost an estimated $570-million – slightly less than the 2021 election’s cost of $574.2-million.
Overall, 19.8 million people, or 69 per cent of registered electors, cast a ballot.
The election was secure, Mr. Perrault said, adding that his agency worked closely with security partners and other stakeholders to monitor and protect its integrity.
“There were no acts of foreign interference targeting the administration of the electoral process,” he said during the press conference.
Of those who voted, about 44 per cent did so ahead of the election date, Mr. Perrault said, and he expects that growing trend to continue.
That means that in a 36-day election calendar, Elections Canada must be ready to serve the bulk of voters 11 days before the date of the election, he said.
Finding accessible and available polling locations is becoming increasingly tough, and 60 per cent of voter information cards were delayed because of difficulties with finalizing leases, he said.
All of this puts pressure on returning officers, Mr. Perrault told reporters. In the case of non-fixed date elections, extending the minimum electoral period by even a few days would be helpful, he said.
The report also noted that there were accessibility challenges for some voters in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, where 91 candidates appeared on the ballot because of an electoral-reform protest known as the Longest Ballot Committee.
Mr. Perrault reiterated his call that electoral rules be changed to require unique nomination signatures to counter the protests, but said the special ballot process used in Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot by-election –where people wrote in their choice of 214 candidates – was successful and could be an option in the future.
Mr. Perrault also said he deeply regrets that some electors in northern Quebec and other remote communities were unable to vote when polling places did not operate as planned.
Polling stations in two communities did not open at all in the Quebec riding of Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou, the report said, while seven communities had shortened hours. It stated a review is under way, and conclusions will be made public once completed.