There have been changes to the Local Authorities Election Act for the fall election (see attachment). Voter Identification and Eligibility requires a person to provide proof of identity and current residence in order to vote, unless the elected authority prepares a list of electors and the person’s name appears on the list. The basic requirement consists of a single piece of identification that includes the person’s name and current address.
Elected authorities have the option, by bylaw, to expand on the types of identification that the returning officer can accept for purposes of satisfying the basic requirement. Minister of Municipal Affairs Doug Griffiths has recently passed Ministerial Order 011/13 which states that the timeline for passing a bylaw in respect of identification requirements would be shortened. For elections held before December 31, 2013 a bylaw may be passed four months prior to nomination day rather than the six months stated in the Local Authorities Election Act.
As per FAQ Number 4 on the attachment, an elected authority can change the kinds of identification to be used by voters to provide eligibility, at their option by:
- expanding on the list of types of identification that the returning officer can accept for purposes of the basic identification requirement
- requiring more than the basic requirement of one piece of identification
- specifying the types of identification that the returning officer can accept for purposes of the additional identification that the elected authority requires to verify name and current address or age of an elector.