5(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint a Chief Electoral Officer on the recommendation of the Legislative Administration Committee or such other committee of the Legislative Assembly as may be determined by resolution of the Legislative Assembly from time to time.

5(1.1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint a Chief Electoral Officer for a term of not less than eight years and not more than ten years.

5(1.2)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may re-appoint a Chief Electoral Officer for one additional term of not more than five years.

5(1.3)If the term of a Chief Electoral Officer expires

5(1.4)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may only remove the Chief Electoral Officer from office for cause.

5(2)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall fix the salary and benefits of the Chief Electoral Officer.

5(3)The Chief Electoral Officer is an officer of the Legislative Assembly.

5(3.01)The office of the Chief Electoral Officer shall be known as Elections New Brunswick or Elections N.B.

5(3.1)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the person holding office as Chief Electoral Officer immediately before the coming into force of this Act shall be deemed to be the Chief Electoral Officer appointed under subsection (1).

5(4)The Chief Electoral Officer shall

5(4.1)Before entering upon the exercise of his or her duties, the Chief Electoral Officer shall take an oath to well and truly perform the duties of the office.

5(4.2)The Speaker or the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall administer the oath referred to in subsection (4.1).

5(5)If during an election it transpires that insufficient time has been allowed or insufficient election officers or polling stations have been provided for the execution of any of the purposes of this Act, by reason of the operation of any provision of this Act or of any mistake or miscalculation or of any unforeseen emergency, the Chief Electoral Officer may, notwithstanding anything in this Act, extend the time for doing any act or acts, increase the number of election officers who have been appointed for the performance of any duty, or increase the number of polling stations, and, generally, the Chief Electoral Officer may adapt the provisions of this Act to the execution of its intent; but in the exercise of this discretion no votes shall be cast before or after the hours fixed by this Act for the opening and closing of the poll nor shall any nomination be received after the time fixed by this Act for the close of nominations.

6(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint two Assistant Electoral Officers to the staff of Elections New Brunswick.

6(2)The Chief Electoral Officer may appoint such assistants, legal counsel, auditors and other employees to the staff of Elections New Brunswick as he or she considers necessary for the efficient carrying out of the powers and duties of the Chief Electoral Officer under this Act.

6(3)The Chief Electoral Officer and the staff of Elections New Brunswick may participate in and receive benefits under any health, life, disability or other insurance or superannuation plan available to employees within the public service, in accordance with the terms upon which the right to participate and receive benefits may from time to time be extended to the Chief Electoral Officer and the staff of Elections New Brunswick.

7(1)The Assistant Electoral Officers shall assist the Chief Electoral Officer in the performance of his or her duties.

7(2)In the absence or illness of the Chief Electoral Officer, on the failure of the Chief Electoral Officer to perform the duties of the office or if the office is vacant, the senior Assistant Electoral Officer shall act in the place of the Chief Electoral Officer and, while so acting, possesses the powers of and shall perform the duties of the Chief Electoral Officer.

7(3)For the purposes of subsection (2), the senior Assistant Electoral Officer is the Assistant Electoral Officer who has been appointed to that office for the longer period of time.

8(1)Before entering upon the exercise of his or her duties, a person appointed under subsection 6(1) or (2) shall take an oath to well and truly perform the duties of his or her office.

8(2)The Chief Electoral Officer shall administer the oath referred to in subsection (1).

9(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint a returning officer for each electoral district.

9(2)On receiving notice of his appointment a returning officer shall forthwith notify the Chief Electoral Officer if he is unable to act.

9(3)Immediately after his appointment, every returning officer shall take and subscribe an oath in the form prescribed by regulation, and he shall forward a duplicate of the oath to the Chief Electoral Officer within five days following his appointment.

9(4)The Chief Electoral Officer shall publish in The Royal Gazette in the month of January in each year a list of the names, addresses and occupations of the returning officers for every electoral district in the Province.

9(5)Notwithstanding subsection 14(1.1), the appointment of a returning officer made after the commencement of this subsection expires on the two hundred and fortieth day after the polling day of the general election next following the appointment.

9(6)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may remove from office, as for cause, any returning officer who

11(1)An election officer who refuses, neglects or is unable to carry out any duty imposed upon him by this Act, or who acts as a canvasser for any candidate, or who is guilty of partisan conduct after his appointment may be suspended or dismissed.

11(2)If such officer is an election clerk or a supervisory deputy returning officer the suspension or dismissal may be made by the Chief Electoral Officer or by the returning officer.

11(3)If such officer is an enumerator, a deputy returning officer, a poll clerk, information officer or a constable, the suspension or dismissal may be made by the returning officer.

11(4)The person effecting a suspension or dismissal under this section may appoint another person to act in the place of the officer suspended or dismissed.

11(5)An officer who is suspended or dismissed shall cease to act forthwith upon being notified of his suspension or dismissal.

12(1)On the commencement of this section, the Chief Electoral Officer shall,

12(2)On or before the thirty-first day of May of each year following the year of the commencement of this section, the Chief Electoral Officer shall,

12(3)The returning officer shall cause a copy of the statement referred to in paragraph (1)(b) and (2)(b), duly certified by the returning officer to be a true copy, to be posted in the registry office of the county or counties in which the electoral district is contained and, if the electoral district is a city, part of a city or contains a city, in the office of the city clerk of such city.

12(4)The polling divisions as last established under this section before the issue of a writ of election constitute the polling divisions of the electoral district for the purpose of the election.

12(5)Within three days following the date of a writ of election the Chief Electoral Officer shall forward by registered mail to the leader of every recognized party a duplicate or certified copy of the list of polling divisions in each electoral district last prepared under this section.

13(1)Every election shall be commenced by an order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

13(2)Such Order in Council shall

14(1)The day fixed for the poll shall at any election be a Monday, unless the Monday of the week in which it is desired to hold the poll is a holiday when the day fixed for the poll shall be Tuesday of the same week.

14(1.1)Where, pursuant to subsection (1), the day fixed for the poll at an election is a Tuesday, the provisions of this Act requiring any thing to be done on a specified day or within a specified period of time before or after polling day apply as if polling day were a Monday.

14(2)The day appointed for the close of the nomination of candidates shall be the seventeenth day before polling day.

14(3)If the seventeenth day before polling day is a holiday, nomination day shall be the sixteenth day before polling day.

14(4)All writs for a general election shall be issued on the same day and made returnable on the same day.

15(1)Where a vacancy in the Legislative Assembly is certified to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly as provided by section 24 of the Legislative Assembly Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall within six months from the date upon which the vacancy was so certified, direct the issue of a writ of election for the electoral district for which the vacancy occurred.

15(2)A writ for a by-election shall cease to have effect and the by-election to be held thereunder shall be cancelled if at any time prior to the ordinary polling day a writ for a general election is issued.

16(1)Upon receipt of a certified copy of the Order in Council ordering an election, the Chief Electoral Officer shall

16(2)On receiving the writ of election, the returning officer shall forthwith endorse thereon the date of his receipt thereof and send an acknowledgment of receipt to the Chief Electoral Officer, and shall forthwith open an office in some convenient place in the electoral district where the electors may have recourse to him, and shall maintain such office throughout the election with operating hours from nine o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock in the afternoon Monday to Saturday, inclusive, and from twelve o’clock noon until six o’clock in the afternoon on Sundays.

16(3)Either the returning officer or the election clerk shall remain continuously on duty in such office during the hours that the polls are open.

17(1)The returning officer, upon receipt of a writ, shall appoint in writing in the form prescribed by regulation an election clerk who shall, before entering upon his duties, take and subscribe an oath in the prescribed form, which appointment and oath of office shall be either endorsed on or attached to the writ.

17(2)The election clerk shall assist the returning officer in the performance of his duties, and if the returning officer dies, refuses to act, or is disqualified or unable to perform his duties, the election clerk shall, until the appointment of a new returning officer, or until the returning officer again becomes able to act, perform the duties of the returning officer, and any act done by the election clerk under the authority of this section shall have the same effect as if it had been done by the returning officer.

17(3)Every election clerk who is required to act as returning officer at an election in place of the returning officer by whom he was appointed shall himself appoint an election clerk.

17(4)Every election clerk holds office during the pleasure of the returning officer by whom he has been appointed, and, after the death or resignation of such returning officer, until his successor has appointed a new election clerk.

17(5)It is the duty of the returning officer and of the election clerk forthwith to notify the Chief Electoral Officer if the returning officer at any time becomes unable to act by reason of illness, absence from the electoral district or otherwise, and it is the duty of the election clerk forthwith to notify the Chief Electoral Officer of the death of the returning officer.

18(1)Within five days after the issue of the writ the returning officer shall issue a proclamation under his hand, in the form prescribed by regulation, in which he shall state

18(2)At least four clear days before nomination day,

20(1)The Chief Electoral Officer shall, forthwith after the issue of the writ, cause to be prepared preliminary lists of all persons who, on the basis of information available under this Act, the Chief Electoral Officer has reason to believe are qualified as electors in each polling division of each electoral district, and shall send such lists to the returning officers along with all other information in the register of electors relating to electors in an electoral district.

20(2)The preliminary list of electors for any polling division or part of a polling division may be prepared from information in the register of electors established and maintained under section 20.1, or from information obtained by an enumeration carried out in accordance with section 20.16, or in part from the register of electors and in part from an enumeration.

20.5(1)On or before the thirty-first day of March in each year, the Chief Electoral Officer shall send one paper copy and one machine readable copy of the list of electors, as taken from the register of electors,

20.5(2)The lists of electors mentioned in subsection (1) shall set out, for each elector, the surname, given names, sex, civic address, and mailing address if different than the civic address, and shall be arranged according to the alphabetical order of surnames.

20.5(3)This section does not apply if the date mentioned in subsection (1) falls during a general election, or if the poll at a general election was held during the three months preceding that date.

20.6(1)The register of electors shall be updated and maintained from information

20.6(2)On the recommendation of the Chief Electoral Officer the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may by regulation amend Schedule C, including adding, changing or deleting the name of any department, agency or any other source of information, or the type of information contained therein.

20.8(1)Where the Chief Electoral Officer collects information from provincial departments and agencies listed in Schedule C the Chief Electoral Officer shall not add a new elector to the register of electors unless:

20.8(2)This section does not apply in respect of the adding of a new elector

20.9(1)Any person may at any time request that the Chief Electoral Officer include that person in the register of electors, by providing

20.9(2)In addition to the information referred to in subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer may invite the person to provide his or her telephone number, and previous civic address, if any, but the person is not required to do so.

20.12(1)The Chief Electoral Officer shall delete from the register of electors the name of any person who

20.12(2)The Chief Electoral Officer may delete from the register of electors the name of any person who fails to reply to a request referred to in paragraph 20.11(b) within sixty days.

20.15(1)The Chief Electoral Officer may enter into an agreement with the Chief Electoral Officer for Canada concerning the acquisition of information contained in the federal Register of Electors or any list of electors established under the statutes of Canada where that information is necessary or desirable to assist in establishing or maintaining the provincial register of electors or a list of electors for a provincial election or plebiscite, and concerning the provision of information contained in the provincial register of electors where that information is necessary or desirable to assist in establishing or maintaining a list of electors for a federal election or referendum.

20.15(2)The Chief Electoral Officer may, for the purpose of ensuring the protection of personal information given in accordance with an agreement mentioned in subsection (1), include in the agreement any conditions that the Chief Electoral Officer considers appropriate regarding the use that may be made of that information.

20.15(3)Information provided to the Chief Electoral Officer for Canada in accordance with an agreement mentioned in subsection (1) may be used only for the purpose of updating the federal Register of Electors or for establishing a list of electors for an election or a referendum held under the statutes of Canada.

20.16(1)The Chief Electoral Officer may with the consent of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council at any time direct a general enumeration to be conducted throughout the Province, or may direct a returning officer to conduct an enumeration in any polling division or part of a polling division to identify electors residing in that area.

20.16(2)An enumeration under subsection (1),

21(1)Where the Chief Electoral Officer has directed that an enumeration be conducted, the returning officer responsible for each affected electoral district or polling division shall by writing in the prescribed form appoint such persons as enumerators as are necessary to carry out the enumeration, and such persons shall, before acting, take the oath in the prescribed form.

21(2)Authorized officers of the registered district association in an electoral district associated with the government party and the party of the official opposition may file or cause to be filed with the returning officer for that electoral district, before noon on the second day next following the date of the writ, a list of nominees for the office of enumerator, and the returning officer for that electoral district in appointing enumerators for a polling division shall, as far as possible, select enumerators from such lists.

21(3)Where two enumerators are appointed to enumerate a polling division or a part of a polling division, they shall, with relation to every process of the preparation of the list of electors, act jointly and not individually, and they shall report forthwith to the returning officer who appointed them the fact and details of any disagreement between them, whereupon the returning officer shall decide the matter of difference and shall communicate his decision to the enumerators who shall accept and apply it as if it had been originally their own.

21(4)When making a house-to-house visitation, pursuant to the provisions of section 26 of this Act, each enumerator shall wear and prominently display an enumerator’s badge provided by the Chief Electoral Officer as evidence of the enumerator’s authority to register the names of electors residing in the polling division.

21(5)An enumerator wearing such badge at any other time, or any person wearing such a badge without authority, or wearing any other badge purporting to be an enumerator’s badge, is guilty of an offence.

26(1)Where an enumeration is directed, the enumerator or enumerators appointed to conduct such enumeration in any polling division or part of a polling division shall proceed forthwith in accordance with the terms of their appointment to ascertain the names of all persons residing in the designated enumeration area who are qualified under this Act to vote in that polling division, obtaining the information required by a house-to-house visitation, except to a public hospital, and from such other sources as may be available.

26(2)An enumerator or enumerators shall leave at the residence of every person who applies to be registered as an elector and to have their name added to the list of electors a notice in the prescribed form signed by the enumerator or enumerators, and detached from the enumerator’s record book, stating that such application has been granted, or refused, as the case may be, and indicating the location of the polling station, if applicable, at which the person may vote.

26(3)Where, on the visitation referred to in subsection (1), the enumerator or the enumerators are unable to communicate with any person from whom he or they could secure the names and particulars of the qualified electors residing at any dwelling place, the enumerator or the enumerators shall leave at that dwelling place in notification card, as prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer, on which shall be stated

27(1)The enumerator or enumerators of each enumerated area shall, within seven days of commencing the enumeration, not including Sundays or holidays, prepare and certify, in the prescribed form a complete list in alphabetical order of persons who are qualified as electors in the enumerated area.

27(2)Enumerators shall list each enumerated elector under the surname and given name or names by which the elector is known in the polling division, and shall enter the civic address and the sex of each elector on the list.

27(3)Where an elector requests that his or her name be included in the register of electors in addition to a list of electors to be prepared for an election, enumerators shall request additional information as to the date of birth, mailing address, previous civic address, date of becoming a resident of the Province and telephone number of each elector, but an elector is not required to provide such information if he or she certifies that he or she is of the full age of eighteen years and has resided in the province for at least six months.

30(1)The returning officer shall, upon receipt from enumerators of the lists of enumerated electors in a polling division or part of a polling division,

30(2)Where an enumeration is conducted during an election period, the returning officer shall complete and prepare copies of the preliminary lists of electors for all polling divisions in the electoral district not later than Wednesday, the nineteenth day before polling day.

30(3)The preliminary lists of electors shall be printed, in alphabetical order by surname, in accordance with the specimen forms supplied by the Chief Electoral Officer, and each copy of a preliminary list of electors for each polling division shall bear a certificate by the returning officer that such copy accurately sets out the names, civic address, and sex of each elector so far as they are known to reside in the polling division to which the list relates, but that the list is subject to revision during the revision period.

30(4)When the preliminary lists of electors have been prepared, the returning officer shall furnish one paper copy and one machine readable copy thereof for each polling division in his electoral district to each recognized party which has officially nominated a candidate in the electoral district and to each independent candidate who has been nominated in the electoral district.

30(5)The Chief Electoral Officer, not later than Monday, the fourteenth day before polling day, shall cause to be sent to each person on the preliminary list of electors for each polling division a notice in a prescribed form advising each person of the polling division and polling station for which they are listed as being eligible to vote.

30(6)The returning officer shall, forthwith after the preliminary lists for the polling divisions comprised in his electoral district have been printed, transmit to the Chief Electoral Officer one paper copy and one machine readable copy of the preliminary lists.

34(1)The preliminary lists of electors for each polling division in each electoral district shall be open for revision on application to either the returning officer or the election clerk, acting individually, from and including Wednesday, the twelfth day before polling day to and including the fourth day before polling day at the office of the returning officer during the regular operating hours of the office as described in subsection 16(2).

34(2)During the period for revision of the preliminary lists of electors, the returning officer or election clerk shall make information about individual electors available to the individual concerned for confirmation or correction.

34(3)The returning officer or election clerk shall, on request, indicate to any person if the name of any other person is included on the preliminary list of electors, but shall not disclose the address of any person named in the preliminary list to any other person without the consent of the person named.

35(1)During the period for revision of the preliminary lists of electors, the returning officer or election clerk shall dispose of

35(2)Every applicant under the provisions of paragraph (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (f) shall appear in person at the returning office and answer to the satisfaction of the returning officer or election clerk all such relevant questions as the returning officer or election clerk shall deem necessary and proper to put to him.

35(3)Where an objection is made under paragraph (1)(e) the onus of establishing a ground to strike a name from the list is upon the elector making the objection and the non-attendance before the returning officer or election clerk of the person whose name is objected to does not relieve the elector making the objection from establishing such ground by evidence that, in the absence of rebuttal evidence, is considered by the returning officer or election clerk sufficient to establish that the name of the person objected to appears improperly on the preliminary list.

41(1)The returning officer shall deliver or transmit one copy of the statement of changes and additions for each polling division in the electoral district to the appropriate deputy returning officer, together with the preliminary list of electors, enclosing the same in the ballot box for use on polling day.

41(2)The returning officer shall deliver or transmit one copy of the statement of changes and additions for each polling division in the electoral district to each party and candidate who has been furnished with copies of the preliminary lists of electors under subsection 30(4).

42(1)In all polling divisions, the preliminary lists and the statements of changes and additions together constitute the official list of electors, to be used for the taking of the votes on polling day.

42(2)The Chief Electoral Officer shall, as soon as possible after polling day, prepare a final list of electors for each electoral district, which shall include the surnames, given names, sex, civic addresses, and mailing address if different from civic address, of all electors whose names have been included in or added to the official list of electors by the close of polls on polling day.

42(2.1)The Chief Electoral Officer shall send one copy of the list to the elected member in respect of his or her district, and send on request, one copy of the list to each registered political party.

42(3)Each political party and candidate who has been furnished with copies of the preliminary and official lists of electors may use the lists for communicating with electors during the election period, including communications for the purpose of soliciting contributions and recruiting members, but for no other purpose.

42(4)Each political party and each member who has been furnished with a copy of the final list of electors pursuant to subsection (2) may use such list for communicating with electors outside of an election period, including communications for the purpose of soliciting contributions and recruiting members, but for no other purpose.

43(1)Except as hereinafter provided every person is qualified to vote and entitled to have his name placed on the list of electors for the polling division in which he ordinarily resides at the time of the preparation and revision of the list of electors therefor, if he

43(2)The following persons are disqualified from voting and shall not vote:

45(1)Where at the time of preparation of the preliminary list of electors a person is residing in a treatment centre or in a lodging, hostel, home, or institution conducted for charitable or semi-charitable purposes, and is expected to so continue to reside until the day of the election, he is deemed to be ordinarily resident in the treatment centre or the lodging, hostel, home, or institution.

45(5)Notwithstanding anything in this Act, for the purposes of a general election, a person who, at the time of preparation of the preliminary lists of electors, is duly registered and in attendance at a recognized educational institution, and for such purposes resides in a polling division other than that in which he ordinarily resides and if he is otherwise qualified as an elector, is entitled to have his name entered on the list of electors for the polling division in which he ordinarily resides and on the list of electors for the polling division in which he resides at the time of preparation of the preliminary lists of electors, and to vote in either one of such polling divisions as he may elect but he may vote only in one division.

45(6)Each candidate at a general election who, on the day before the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly immediately preceding the election, was a member and any spouse or dependant of such a candidate who lives with him and is qualified as an elector is entitled

46(1)No person shall, for the purpose of this Act, be deemed to be ordinarily resident in the Province, if occupying quarters or premises that are generally occupied by him only during some or all of the months of May to October, inclusive, and generally remain unoccupied during some or all of the months of November to April, inclusive, unless

46(2)A person shall not be deemed to have gained a residence in the Province, or in an electoral district, if he has come into the Province for temporary purposes only, without the intention of making the Province, and some place in the electoral district, his home.

48.1(1)No person is eligible to be a member of the Legislative Assembly or of sitting or voting in the Legislative Assembly who is

51(1)Any twenty-five or more electors qualified to vote in the electoral district for which an election is to be held may nominate a candidate for that electoral district by signing a nomination paper in the form prescribed by regulation, stating therein such particulars of the name, address and occupation of the person proposed as sufficiently to identify such candidate, and the address of the candidate for service of process and papers under this Act, and by causing such nomination paper to be produced to and filed with the returning officer at any time between the date of the proclamation and the close of nominations as hereinafter specified, and by complying in all other respects with this section.

51(2)Each candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper, but the same electors or any of them may sign as many nomination papers as there are members to be elected for the electoral district.

51(3)A candidate of a recognized party shall deliver to the returning officer, at the same time as his nomination paper, a certificate, signed by the leader of such party in the presence of two witnesses, declaring that he is an official candidate of the party.

51(4)The nomination papers of the candidate of a recognized party shall also designate the name of an agent to whom copies of the lists of electors are to be provided pursuant to subsection 30(4) and who may appoint a scrutineer to act at the polls pursuant to section 72.

51(5)No nomination paper is valid nor shall be acted upon when filed with the returning officer, unless it is accompanied by a deposit of one hundred dollars in legal tender or a certified cheque for that amount made payable to the Minister of Finance, and by proof by affidavit in the form prescribed by regulation that,

51(6)The returning officer shall not accept any deposit until after all the other steps necessary to complete the nomination of the candidate have been taken, and upon his accepting a deposit he shall give to the person by whom it is paid a receipt therefor that shall be prima facie evidence that the candidate has been duly and regularly nominated.

51(7)The full amount of every deposit shall forthwith after its receipt be transmitted by the returning officer to the Minister of Finance.

51(8)The sum so deposited by a candidate shall be returned to him by the Minister of Finance in the event of his being elected or of his obtaining a number of votes at least equal to one-half the number of votes polled in favour of any candidate elected; otherwise, it shall belong to Her Majesty for the public use of the Province.

51(9)The sum so deposited shall, in case of the death of any candidate after being nominated and before the closing of the poll, be returned to the personal representatives of such candidate.

52(1)At twelve o’clock noon on nomination day the returning officer and election clerk shall both attend at the place stated in the election proclamation, and shall remain there until two o’clock in the afternoon of the same day for the purpose of receiving nominations of such candidates as have not already been duly nominated, but after two o’clock in the afternoon of nomination day no further nominations are receivable or shall be received.

52(2)A nomination paper may be filed with the returning officer at his office at any time between the date of the proclamation and the day of nomination, with the same effect as if produced on the day, at the hour, and at the place fixed for the nomination.

52(3)At the close of the time for nominating the candidates the returning officer shall deliver to every candidate, or the agent of a candidate applying therefor, a certified list of the names of the candidates who have been nominated.

52(4)Any votes given at the election for any person other than a duly nominated candidate are null and void.

54(1)A candidate nominated may withdraw at any time not later than forty-eight hours before the opening of the poll by filing with the returning officer a declaration in writing to that effect, signed by himself and attested by the signatures of two qualified electors in the electoral district; and any votes cast for a candidate who has so withdrawn are null and void.

54(2)The deposit of a candidate so withdrawing is forfeited.

54(3)If, after the withdrawal, there remains but one candidate, the returning officer shall return as duly elected the candidate so remaining, without waiting for the day fixed for holding the poll.

54(4)Where a candidate has withdrawn after the notice of the granting of the poll and the ballot papers have been printed, the returning officer shall advise each deputy returning officer of his electoral district of such withdrawal.

54(5)On polling day each deputy returning officer shall prepare and post a notice of the withdrawal in a conspicuous place in his polling station, and when delivering a ballot paper to each elector shall inform the elector of the withdrawal.

55(1)Where a candidate dies after the close of nomination and before the poll has closed, the returning officer, upon being satisfied of the fact of the death and with the consent of the Chief Electoral Officer, shall countermand notice of the poll, and fix another day for the nomination of candidates but no fresh nomination is necessary in the case of a candidate who stood nominated at the time of the countermand of the poll.

55(2)Notice of the day fixed, which shall not be more than one month from the death of the candidate nor less than twenty days from the issue of the notice, shall be given by a further proclamation distributed and published as required by section 18, and in addition to the new day for nomination there shall also be named by such proclamation a new polling day, which shall be the seventeenth day after the day fixed for the nomination.

55(3)The election, in other respects, shall be held in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

55(4)The lists of electors to be used at such postponed election shall be the official lists of electors prepared and revised after the issue of the writ.

55(5)Full particulars of any action taken under this section shall be reported by the returning officer to the Chief Electoral Officer with the return of the writ.

57(1)If more candidates than one are nominated in the manner required by this Act, the returning officer shall grant a poll for taking the votes of the electors.

57(2)Within five days after the poll has been granted, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish a notice of grant of poll in at least one newspaper circulated in each electoral district indicating

59(1)The poll shall be held in one or more polling stations established in each polling division and located on the ground floor of a court house, municipal hall, school or other public building or, if none is available, on the ground floor of any other suitable building.

59(1.1)Each polling station shall

59(1.2)Upon the request of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Minister of Education or any person authorized by the Minister of Education to do so shall make available for use as a polling station any public school if such use does not disrupt instructional time for students.

59(2)The returning officer shall designate for each polling division a suitable polling station or stations having regard to the convenience of the voters in such polling division.

59(3)Where the returning officer is unable to secure suitable premises to be used as a polling station within a polling division, he may, with the prior permission of the Chief Electoral Officer, establish such polling station outside the polling division, and upon the establishment of such polling station all provisions of this Act apply as if such polling station were within the polling division to which it appertains.

59(4)Each polling station shall contain one or two compartments so arranged that each elector may be screened from observation, and may, without interference or interruption, mark his ballot paper.

59(5)In each compartment there shall be provided for the use of electors in marking their ballot papers, a table or desk with a hard smooth surface, and a suitable black lead pencil that shall be kept properly sharpened throughout the hours of polling.

59(6)The poll shall be opened at the hour of ten o’clock in the forenoon and kept open until the hour of eight o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, and each deputy returning officer shall, during that time, in the polling station for which he has been appointed, receive in the manner hereinafter prescribed the votes of the electors duly qualified to vote at such polling station.

59(7)Where the deputy returning officer, from unforeseen delay, accident or other cause, does not open a polling station until after the hour of ten o’clock in the forenoon, he shall make a record in the poll book of the hour at which the poll is opened and shall keep the poll open for voting during the ten full hours thereafter.

60(1)Where the number of names on the list of electors for any polling division exceeds four hundred and fifty, the returning officer shall provide two or more polling stations for such polling division so that the number of electors for each polling station not exceed four hundred and fifty, giving due consideration to geographical and all other factors that may affect the convenience of the electors in casting their votes.

60(2)In such case the returning officer shall divide the list of electors for such polling division into as many separate lists as there are polling stations established under this section, and each list shall,

61(1)As soon as convenient after the issue of the writ of election, the returning officer shall, by writing in the forms prescribed by regulation executed under his hand, appoint one deputy returning officer and a poll clerk for each polling station established in his electoral district.

61(1.01)Before noon on the seventh day following the date of the writ, authorized officers of the registered district association in an electoral district associated with the government party may file with the returning officer for that electoral district a list of nominees for the office of deputy returning officer for each polling station in the electoral district.

61(1.02)Before noon on the seventh day following the date of the writ, authorized officers of the registered district association in an electoral district associated with the party of the official opposition may file with the returning officer for that electoral district a list of nominees for the office of poll clerk for each polling station in the electoral district.

61(1.03)When appointing deputy returning officers and poll clerks for polling stations under subsection (1), the returning officer shall, if appropriate,

61(1.04)If the returning officer is unable to fill an office in accordance with paragraph (1.03)(a) or (b), the returning officer may appoint a person from either list to the office or appoint any person that the returning officer considers appropriate.

61(1.1)The returning officer may, by writing in the form prescribed by regulation executed under his or her hand, appoint a supervisory deputy returning officer to coordinate and supervise the work of the deputy returning officers and poll clerks assigned to three or more polling stations in the electoral district.

61(2)An enumerator may be appointed as deputy returning officer, supervisory deputy returning officer or poll clerk.

61(3)Every deputy returning officer, supervisory deputy returning officer and every poll clerk shall, before acting as such, take and subscribe an oath in the forms prescribed by regulation that shall forthwith be returned to the returning officer.

61(4)The returning officer shall, at least two days before the day fixed for polling, post in his office a list of the names and addresses of the deputy returning officers, supervisory deputy returning officers, and of the poll clerks showing the polling station or stations for which each is appointed, and shall permit free access to and afford full opportunity for inspection of the list by any candidate, agent or elector at any time up to the opening of the poll.

61(5)Not later than the seventh day after nomination day, the returning officer shall furnish each candidate with a certified list of all the deputy returning officers, supervisory deputy returning officers and poll clerks appointed by him and the number and address of the polling station or stations where each of them is to act.

61(8)Where a returning officer has to make changes in the appointments of deputy returning officers, supervisory deputy returning officers or poll clerks after he has furnished such list to the candidates and posted it up, he shall so notify each candidate forthwith and correct the list posted up, as the changes are made.

61(10)If the supervisory deputy returning officer, or the deputy returning officer if there is no supervisory deputy returning officer, cannot find a person competent to act as poll clerk, the polling shall not be delayed or suspended on that account, and the deputy returning officer shall perform both functions, but he is entitled to be remunerated as deputy returning officer only.

61(11)During the operating hours of the office of the returning officer, the returning officer shall permit any candidate or elector to examine and consult in the office the notice of grant of a poll and the list of deputy returning officers, supervisory deputy returning officers and poll clerks, after they have been posted.

62(1)The Chief Electoral Officer may cause to be made for each electoral district such ballot boxes as are required, or he may instruct the returning officer to procure ballot boxes of uniform size and shape.

62(2)Every ballot box shall be made of durable material and shall have a slit or narrow opening in the top, so constructed that the ballot papers may be introduced therein, but cannot be withdrawn therefrom unless the metal or plastic seal is broken.

62(3)If the returning officer fails to furnish a ballot box to the deputy returning officer for any polling division within the time prescribed, or if the box that he has furnished has been removed or lost, the deputy returning officer shall have one made or procure one.

62(4)The property in ballot boxes and all election documents is in Her Majesty.

63(1)All ballot papers shall be of the same description and as nearly alike as possible.

63(2)The ballot papers shall be printed papers in the form prescribed by regulation; the face of the ballot paper shall be printed in black ink, and the names and political affiliations of the candidates and a small circular space at the right of the names of the candidates shall appear in the natural color of the paper, and a small notch shall be cut from the right edge of the ballot paper next to each circular space.

63(2.1)The names of the candidates appearing on the ballot paper shall be printed exactly as the names are set out in the headings of the nomination papers, exclusive of any professional, academic or honorary title or its abbreviation, and shall be in large type and shall precede the description of the political affiliations of the candidates.

63(3)Each ballot paper shall have a stub and there shall be a line of perforations between the ballot and the stub.

63(4)Ballot papers shall be printed upon paper furnished to the returning officer by the Chief Electoral Officer pursuant to section 65.

63(5)Ballot papers shall be consecutively numbered on the back of the stub.

63(6)Ballot papers shall have printed on the back thereof, as in the form prescribed by regulation,

63(7)The printing on a ballot paper shall be so arranged that when the ballot paper has been folded by an elector after he has marked it, the space containing the initials of the deputy returning officer may be seen without unfolding the ballot paper.

63(9)The names of candidates of recognized parties shall be arranged in the following order:

63(10)When there are any independent candidates, their names shall appear on the ballot paper below those of the candidates of the recognized parties in alphabetical order as to the first letter of the surname.

67(1)Upon receipt of the paper, the Chief Electoral Officer, after counting the sheets, shall give a receipt therefor to the maker.

67(2)The Chief Electoral Officer shall deliver personally or forward by express, in one or more closed and sealed boxes or bags, to the returning officer of each electoral district, or to a printer designated by the latter, the number of sheets necessary for the printing of the ballot papers required in the electoral district.

67(3)He shall also furnish, for the preparation of the proofs, sheets of paper of a different colour.

67(4)The printer shall count the sheets intended for the printing of ballot papers as soon as he receives them and forthwith send a receipt therefor to the Chief Electoral Officer.

68(1)The printer, on delivering the printed ballot papers to the returning officer, shall file with him a statutory declaration containing the following details: a description of the ballot papers, the number of sheets of paper that he received for the printing thereof, the number of ballot papers furnished to the returning officer, the surnames and Christian names of all the persons who have worked at the printing, counting, putting into booklets, packing and delivering of the ballot papers.

68(2)Such declaration shall also certify that no other ballot paper of the same description has been furnished to any person and it shall be sent forthwith by the returning officer to the Chief Electoral Officer.

68(3)All those who have worked at the printing, putting into booklets, packing and delivering of the ballot papers shall also file with the returning officer a statutory declaration that they have not furnished ballot papers of the same description to any person except the returning officer.

68(4)Such declaration shall be forthwith transmitted by the returning officer to the Chief Electoral Officer.

68.1(1)The Chief Electoral Officer shall arrange for the printing of braille facsimiles of the ballot papers for each electoral district and shall deliver to the returning officer one braille facsimile of the ballot paper for each polling station in the electoral district.

68.1(2)The person preparing braille facsimiles of any ballot paper, on delivering such facsimiles to the Chief Electoral Officer shall file a statutory declaration stating that the braille facsimiles are true and accurate representations of the printed ballot papers, the number of braille facsimiles prepared, the name of the person or persons who prepared the braille facsimiles, and that no copies of the braille facsimiles of the ballot papers have been provided to any person except the Chief Electoral Officer.

71(1)The returning officer shall at the same time furnish each deputy returning officer, in an envelope closed and sealed under his signature, with a sufficient number of ballot papers for at least the number of electors on the official list of electors for the polling division, a certificate of the number of such ballot papers, and black lead pencils for voting.

71(2)Two books of twenty-five ballot papers, over and above the number of ballot papers furnished as required by subsection (1), shall also be furnished.

71(3)The books of ballot papers shall not on any pretext be divided.

71(4)The closed and sealed envelope containing the ballot papers shall not be opened except at the opening of the polling station and in the presence of the poll clerk and the scrutineers or the electors admitted to represent recognized parties and independent candidates.

71(5)Until the opening of the poll the deputy returning officer shall keep the blank poll book, list of electors, forms of oaths, ballot papers and other election supplies in his possession and shall take every precaution for their safekeeping and to prevent any person from having unlawful access to them.

74(1)If the scrutineers and the electors entitled to be present during polling hours in the room where the poll is held as representatives of parties or candidates are in attendance at least fifteen minutes before the hour fixed for the opening of the poll, they are entitled to inspect the ballot box, the ballot papers, and all other papers, forms and documents relating to the poll.

74(2)A candidate may himself undertake the duties that a scrutineer, if appointed, might have undertaken.

75(1)The deputy returning officer shall, on polling day, at or before the opening of the poll, cause such printed directions to electors as have been supplied to him pursuant to paragraph 70(a) to be posted up in conspicuous places outside of and near to the polling station and also in each compartment of the polling station.

75(1.1)Where two or more polling stations are located in the same premises the returning officer for the electoral district in which those polling stations are located shall direct one of the deputy returning officers to provide a service, in a central and convenient place in those premises, whereby information may be given to any elector respecting the polling station at which that elector may vote.

75(2)Before the opening of the poll, on polling day, the deputy returning officer shall, at the polling station and in full view of such of the candidates, scrutineers or electors representing candidates as are present, affix uniformly and in ink of the same colour his initials in the space provided for that purpose on the back of every ballot paper and the ballot papers shall not then be detached from the books in which they have been bound or stitched.

75(3)At the hour fixed for opening the poll, the deputy returning officer and the poll clerk shall, in the presence of such of the candidates and their representatives as are present, ascertain that there are no ballot papers or other papers in the ballot box, after which the deputy returning officer shall seal it by use of a metal or plastic seal and place it on a table in full view of all present, and it shall be maintained there until the close of the poll.

75(4)Immediately after the ballot box is so sealed, the deputy returning officer shall call upon the electors to vote.

75(5)The deputy returning officer shall secure the admittance of every elector into the polling station, and shall see that they are not impeded or molested at or about the polling station.

75(5.1)No candidate, agent or representative of the candidate, or representative of a political party with which a candidate is affiliated, shall, at any time prior to or on polling day, cause any information to be given to an elector respecting the polling station where that elector may vote.

75(5.2)Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (5.1) is guilty of an illegal practice.

75(5.3)Subsection (5.1) shall not be construed or applied to prohibit any person from responding, to the best of his knowledge and belief, to a question from an elector as to the location of the polling station where that elector may vote.

75(6)Subject to subsection 76(2), subsection 81(1) and subsection 83(1), not more than one elector for each compartment in the polling station shall be permitted to be in the room where the poll is to be held at the same time and each elector shall, upon entering, declare his name and address whereupon the poll clerk shall ascertain if the name of the elector appears on the official list of electors for the polling division.

75(7)If it is ascertained that the applicant elector’s name appears on the official list of electors or that the elector is otherwise qualified to vote at the polling station, the elector shall immediately be allowed to vote unless an election officer, a scrutineer or an elector representing a recognized party or an independent candidate, present at the polling station, desires that the elector be sworn first.

76(1)Subject to his taking any oath authorized by this Act to be required of him, a person whose name appears on the official list of electors for a polling station shall be permitted to vote at such polling station.

76(2)Subject to subsection (3), a person shall not be allowed to vote in a polling division if his name does not appear on the official list of electors for such polling division unless he has obtained a transfer certificate pursuant to section 80 and fully complies with the provisions of subsection 80(5), and such certificate is delivered to the deputy returning officer before the elector is allowed to vote.

76(3)In any polling division, a person who is qualified to vote in the electoral district in which an election is pending and who is ordinarily resident in the polling division on polling day may, notwithstanding that the person’s name does not appear on the official list of electors for the polling division, vote at the polling station established for the polling division if he or she takes and subscribes an oath in the form prescribed by regulation before an election officer authorized under subsection 124(2) to administer an oath, and

76(4)No elector shall vote more than once at the same election.

76(5)An elector may vouch for more than one person under paragraph (3)(a) if the elector personally attends at the polling station with each person to be vouched for and takes and subscribes an oath in the form prescribed by regulation with respect to each person to be vouched for.

76.1(4)An election officer shall not, under the authority of subsection 76(3), take the oath of any person

76.1(5)A person’s name shall be added to the official list of electors and the person shall be allowed to vote without being sworn under subsection 76(3) where through inadvertence the person’s name was left off the official list of electors and where the deputy returning officer or supervisory deputy returning officer has ascertained from the returning officer that the carbon copy in the enumerator’s record book or the affidavit of revisions shows that an omission has been made and

77(1)An elector, if required by the deputy returning officer, the poll clerk, a candidate, a scrutineer, or by any elector present, shall, before receiving his ballot paper, take an oath in the form prescribed by regulation and, if he refuses to take such oath, a line shall be drawn through his name on the list of electors, and in the poll book and the words “refused to be sworn” shall be written thereafter.

77(2)No elector who has refused to take any oath or affirmation or to answer any question as by this Act required, shall receive a ballot paper or be permitted to vote or be again admitted to the room where the poll is held.

78(1)Where there are contained in the official list of electors a name, address and sex that correspond so closely with the name, address and sex of a person who makes application to vote as to suggest that the entry in such official list of electors was intended to refer to him, such person is, upon taking an oath in the form prescribed by regulation, and complying in all other respects with the provisions of this Act, entitled to receive a ballot paper and to vote.

78(2)In any such case the name, address and sex shall be entered correctly in the poll book and the fact that the oath has been taken shall be entered in the proper column of the poll book.

80(1)At any time between the close of nominations and the opening of the poll on polling day, upon the production to the returning officer or the election clerk of a writing signed by a candidate who has been officially nominated or by the agent of a recognized party whereby a person whose name appears upon the official list of electors for any polling station in the electoral district is appointed to act as a scrutineer at another polling station in the same electoral district, the returning officer or the election clerk shall issue to the scrutineer a transfer certificate in the form prescribed by regulation entitling the scrutineer to vote at the latter polling station.

80(2)Every scrutineer who has obtained a transfer certificate from the returning officer or the election clerk, shall, before being allowed to vote by virtue of such certificate, take and subscribe an oath in the form prescribed by regulation before the deputy returning officer.

80(3)A candidate whose name appears upon the list of electors for any polling station is entitled at his request to receive a transfer certificate entitling him to vote in a polling station in the same electoral district other than that on the list of electors for which his name appears.

80(4)The returning officer or election clerk may issue a transfer certificate to a person whose name appears on the official list of electors for any polling station and who has been appointed to act as deputy returning officer or poll clerk for any polling station in the same electoral district other than that on the list for which such person’s name appears.

80(5)No transfer certificate issued to an election officer or scrutineer under this section entitles the election officer or scrutineer to vote pursuant thereto unless, on polling day, he is actually engaged in the performance of the duty specified in the said certificate at the polling station therein mentioned.

80(5.1)If an elector’s name appears on the official list of electors for a polling station that the elector is unable to access because of physical incapacity, the returning officer or election clerk may issue a transfer certificate to the elector entitling the elector to vote at another polling station that the elector is able to access in the same electoral district.

80(6)The returning officer or election clerk by whom any transfer certificate is issued shall complete the certificate, dating and signing it, and shall consecutively number each certificate in the order of its issue and keep a record thereof, and no such certificate shall be issued in blank.

80(7)The returning officer or election clerk shall mark opposite the name of the elector to whom a transfer certificate is issued, on the official list of electors to be furnished to the deputy returning officer, the words “transfer certificate”, or, in the event of such list having been already delivered to the deputy returning officer, deliver to such officer a duplicate of such certificate, whereupon the deputy returning officer shall forthwith mark opposite the name of such elector on such list the words “transfer certificate”.

80(8)Any person applying to vote under this section shall, before being allowed to vote, surrender his transfer certificate to the deputy returning officer.

80(9)In every case of a vote polled under the authority of this section, the poll clerk shall enter in the poll book opposite the voter’s name, in the column for remarks, a memorandum stating that the voter voted under a transfer certificate, giving the number of such certificate, and stating the particular office or position, if applicable, that the voter is filling at the polling station.

80(10)No person who has obtained a transfer certificate is entitled to vote at the polling station on the list of electors for which his name appears, except upon his producing the certificate and delivering it up to the deputy returning officer at such polling station.

81(1)Every candidate, officer, clerk, scrutineer or other person in attendance at a polling station or at the counting of the votes shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting, and shall not attempt to obtain, or communicate or attempt to communicate, any information as to the candidate for whom any elector has voted.

81(2)Except as provided in section 83, no elector shall during the time he is in the polling station disclose in any manner the name of a candidate for whom he intends to vote or has voted.

81(3)Every person who contravenes or fails to observe any provision of this section is guilty of an illegal practice.

82(1)Voting shall be by secret ballot, and each elector entitled to vote shall receive from the deputy returning officer a ballot paper on the back of which the deputy returning officer has, as prescribed in subsection 75(2), affixed his initials, so placed, as indicated in the form mentioned in subsection 63(6), that when the ballot paper is folded the initials can be seen without unfolding the ballot paper.

82(2)The deputy returning officer shall instruct the elector how and where to affix his mark, and shall properly fold the elector’s ballot paper, directing him to return it, when marked, folded as shown, but without inquiring or seeing for whom the elector intends to vote, except when the elector is unable to vote in the manner prescribed by this Act on account of inability to read, blindness, or other physical incapacity and is not accompanied by a friend as provided by subsection 83(4).

82(3)The elector, on receiving the ballot paper, shall

82(4)An elector who has inadvertently dealt with the ballot paper delivered to him in such manner that it cannot conveniently be used shall return it to the deputy returning officer, who shall deface it in such manner as to render it a spoiled ballot; the deputy returning officer shall then deliver another ballot paper to the elector.

83(1)On the application of an elector who is unable to read or write, or who is incapacitated from blindness or any other physical cause from voting in the manner prescribed by this Act, and who has taken the oath in the form prescribed by regulation, and who is accompanied by a friend, the deputy returning officer shall permit such friend to accompany the incapacitated elector into the voting compartment and assist him in marking his ballot paper for him, but no person shall at any election be allowed to act as the friend of more than one elector.

83(2)Any friend who is permitted to complete the ballot paper of an incapacitated elector as aforesaid shall first be required to take an oath in the form prescribed by regulation.

83(3)The poll clerk shall enter in the poll book opposite the name of an elector voting in the manner provided in this section, in addition to any other requisite entry, the nature of his incapacity and the name of the person, if any, acting as the friend of such elector.

83(4)When an incapacitated elector makes application to vote and is not accompanied by a friend, and is not capable of voting without assistance, the deputy returning officer shall require him to take the oath in the form prescribed by regulation and shall thereafter assist him by marking his ballot paper in the manner directed by such elector in the presence of the poll clerk and of the sworn scrutineers or electors representing candidates or recognized parties in the polling station and no other person, and shall place such ballot paper in the ballot box.

83.2(1)The deputy returning officer and poll clerk shall, on polling day, carry the ballot box, poll book, ballot papers and other necessary documents from room to room in the treatment centre or public hospital and, in the discretion of the deputy returning officer, to a common area in the treatment centre or public hospital to take the vote of

83.2(2)Subject to subsection (3), the deputy returning officer and poll clerk shall follow the procedure prescribed for an ordinary polling station and the deputy returning officer shall give the resident of the treatment centre or the patient at a public hospital any assistance that may be necessary in accordance with subsections 83(1) and (4).

83.2(3)An elector who is a patient in a public hospital shall take an oath in the form prescribed by regulation before voting.

83.3(1)The following persons may accompany the mobile polling station:

83.3(2)If, in the opinion of the administrator or person appointed by the treatment centre or public hospital, it is considered advisable to do so, the deputy returning officer may limit the persons present at a polling station to

83.5(1)The administrator or person appointed by the treatment centre or public hospital shall, on the close of the taking of the poll at the treatment centre or public hospital, endorse the poll book by affixing his signature immediately under the last name in the poll book certifying that the persons named in the poll book were residents of the treatment centre or patients at the public hospital, as the case may be, on polling day.

83.5(2)The deputy returning officer shall, on the close of the taking of the poll at the treatment centre or public hospital, affix his signature in the poll book immediately under the signature of the administrator or person appointed by the treatment centre or public hospital.

84(1)Subject to all other provisions of this Act as to proof of qualification as an elector and the administration of oaths, if a person representing himself to be a particular elector applies for a ballot paper after another person has voted as such person, he is entitled to receive a ballot paper and to vote after taking the oath of identity, in the form prescribed by regulation and also, when required, the oath mentioned in subsection 78(1) and otherwise establishing his identity to the satisfaction of the deputy returning officer.

84(2)In such case, the poll clerk shall enter in the poll book, opposite the name of the elector

85(1)Whenever the deputy returning officer does not understand the language spoken by an elector, he shall if possible appoint an interpreter who shall be the means of communication between him and the elector with reference to all matters required to enable such elector to vote.

85(2)The Interpreter shall take the oath following:

86(1)Every employee who is a qualified elector shall, while the polls are open on polling day at an election, have three consecutive hours for the purpose of casting his vote, and if the hours of his employment do not allow for such three consecutive hours, his employer shall allow him such additional time for voting as may be necessary to provide three consecutive hours.

86(2)No employer shall make any deduction from the pay of any such employee nor impose upon or exact from him any penalty by reason of absence from his work during such consecutive hours.

86(3)Any additional time for voting shall be granted at the convenience of the employer.

86(4)This section extends to railway companies and their employees, except such employees as are actually engaged in the running of trains and to whom such time cannot be allowed without interfering with the manning of the trains.

86(5)Any employer who, directly or indirectly, refuses, or by intimidation, undue influence, or in any other way, interferes with the granting to any elector in his employ, of the consecutive hours for voting, as in this section provided, is guilty of an illegal practice and of an offence.

87(1)Every voter shall vote without undue delay, and shall quit the polling station as soon as his ballot has been put into the ballot box.

87(2)If at the hour for closing of the poll there are any electors in the polling station or in line at the door, who are qualified to vote and have not been able to do so since their arrival at the polling station, the poll shall be kept open a sufficient time to enable them to vote before the outer door of the polling station is closed, but no one not actually present at the polling station at the hour for closing of the poll shall be allowed to vote, even if the poll is still open when he arrives.

87(3)For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of subsection (2) the deputy returning officer shall, at the hour of closing the poll, cause the names of all electors then in line at the polling station to be listed, and no person other than those whose names are so listed shall be permitted to vote after such hour.

87.1(1)A returning officer shall appoint two special ballot officers in the following manner:

87.1(2)Notwithstanding section 82, an elector who has reason to believe that, because of absence, illness or incapacity, he or she will be unable to vote on the days set for the advance polls and on polling day may apply in the manner and form prescribed by regulation to a special ballot officer for a special ballot paper for the electoral district in which he or she is ordinarily resident.

87.1(3)An application under subsection (2) may be made at any time after the issuance of the writ and shall be made in time to permit the return of the special ballot paper to the special ballot officers no later than eight o’clock in the afternoon on polling day.

87.3(1)Before issuing a special ballot paper, a special ballot officer shall ensure that the applicant elector’s name appears on the list of electors for the electoral district in which the elector ordinarily resides and shall ensure that the elector has not previously been issued a special ballot paper.

87.3(2)A person who is qualified to vote and whose name does not appear on the list of electors for the electoral district in which the person ordinarily resides may apply to have his or her name added to the list when applying for a special ballot paper under section 87.1.

87.3(3)A special ballot officer shall issue a special ballot paper

87.3(4)Upon issuing a special ballot paper to an elector, a special ballot officer shall record the following in the special ballot poll book:

87.3(5)If a special ballot paper is issued to an elector in accordance with paragraph (3)(a),

87.3(6)If a special ballot paper is issued to an elector in accordance with paragraph (3)(a), two special ballot officers shall be present to take the vote of the elector.

87.3(7)If an elector is unable to vote without assistance, in accordance with subsection 83(4) and in the presence of another special ballot officer, a special ballot officer may assist the elector in completing a special ballot paper.

87.3(8)If a special ballot officer is unavailable, a returning officer or an election clerk may issue a special ballot paper to an elector in accordance with paragraph (3)(a) and may take the vote of an elector in the same manner as a special ballot officer.

87.3(9)If a special ballot paper is issued to an elector in accordance with paragraph (3)(b), the following shall be issued with the special ballot paper:

87.3(10)Upon receipt of a special ballot paper in accordance with paragraph (3)(b), an elector shall

87.3(11)Upon receipt of a certificate envelope, the special ballot officers, acting together, shall ensure that

87.3(12)If the special ballot officers are satisfied that the requirements of subsection (11) have been fulfilled, they shall

87.3(13)If the special ballot officers are not satisfied that the requirements of subsection (11) have been fulfilled, they shall mark “spoiled ballot paper” on the certificate envelope and deposit the unopened certificate envelope in an envelope designated for spoiled ballot papers.