As part of its ongoing outreach program with electors, Elections Ontario has undertaken the following initiatives with student organizations, under the terms of the Ontario Election Act (excerpted below with explanatory notes), to inform student voters of the options available to them in exercising their vote during the 38th provincial general election:
- Consultation with student organizations and distribution of an overview document in March 2003
- Further to subsequent requests for clarification of “residence” after the election call, a follow-up document to clarify the definition and application of permanent residence under the Election Act
- An information poster developed for university and college campuses distributed via federations of students and student councils across Ontario
- A dedicated section on the Elections Ontario web site that includes responses to Frequently Asked Questions for students
- Trained call centre agents who reply to student voting questions by telephone and e-mail.
Students who maintain their family address as their permanent residence are able to vote through several other means: by voting in person on Election Day or at an advance poll (which run until this Friday) in the electoral district where they are a permanent resident, or by appointing a person as a proxy voter to vote on their behalf. The rules around proxy voting have been expanded for greater convenience to electors, such as students, who may be away from their permanent residence when an election is called – these changes allow proxy forms to be faxed back to the proxy voter rather than mailed, as was previously required.
Excerpt from the Ontario Election Act with explanatory notes
Section 1.1 of the Election Act provides:
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a person’s residence is the permanent lodging place to which,
whenever absent, he or she intends to return.
(2) The following rules apply in determining a person’s residence:
1. A person may only have one residence at a time.
2. The place where a person’s family resides is also his or her residence unless he or she moves elsewhere with the intention of changing his or her permanent lodging place.
3. If a person has no other permanent lodging place, the place where he or she occupies a room or part of a room as a regular lodger or to which he or she habitually returns is his or her residence.
Thus, if a person lives on campus in “residence,” this does not mean that he/she necessarily resides, as defined in the Election Act, in the electoral district where the residence building is located. Like any elector, students are only qualified to vote in the electoral district where their family resides or where their permanent lodging place is located. The room in residence may only be considered a residence (for the purposes of the Act) if they have no other permanent lodging place.
Before adding anyone to the list of electors or issuing a Certificate to Vote, revising officials will inquire if the address being given by a person is his or her permanent residence. These officials also have to be satisfied of the facts declared to and that the person understands the effects of what they are stating in their application (Section 21, subsection 5 of the Act).
If qualified electors wish to be added to the Permanent Register of Electors, they must produce identification documents. If these documents substantiate a residence in another electoral district, the revising officials will then explain to them how they can apply to vote by proxy in the electoral district of their permanent residence.
If, however, a person is prepared to take a statutory declaration of residence in the electoral district, a Certificate to Vote may be issued. It should be pointed out, however, that any elector may be challenged at the polling place and may be asked to produce supporting identification documents at that time.
In terms of the identification documents, there has been no change since the 1999 General Election in the types of documents that would be acceptable. Information on the identification documents has been provided on Election Ontario’s website, in the Elections Ontario householder delivered to every residential address in Ontario by Canada Post, and in print and television advertising across the province throughout the election period.
To be eligible to vote, on polling day a person must be:
- 18 years of age or older,
- a Canadian citizen, and
- a resident of the electoral district.
Applications to vote by proxy can be downloaded at www.electionsontario.on.ca. They can also be obtained from any Returning Office and are available from candidates. Returning Office locations and phone numbers, poll locations and additional information on the range of services available for electors may be obtained from Elections Ontario’s website or by calling Elections Ontario at 1-888-668-8683.
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Media Contacts:
Elections Ontario Media Centre:
416.212.6186 / 1.866.252.2152
media@electionsontario.on.ca