Elections BC

Last updated

Elections BC
ElectionsBC.svg
Agency overview
Formed1995
Jurisdiction British Columbia
Headquarters100-1112 Fort Street, Victoria, British Columbia
Employees44 (permanent); up to 32,000 (election period) [1]
Annual budget$8,961,000 [1]
Agency executive
  • Anton Boegman, chief electoral officer
Website www.elections.bc.ca

Elections BC (formally the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia) is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, plebiscites in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its federal equivalent is Elections Canada.

Contents

Responsibilities

Elections BC is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia Legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, plebiscites in British Columbia. Elections BC compiles and maintains a list of eligible voters as well as sets and adjusts the boundaries of electoral districts. [2]

Elections BC is also responsible for regulating campaign financing and advertising and the registration of political parties. To retain their official status, political parties must file annual financial reports with Elections BC. [2] [3] Registration entitles parties to have their name on the ballot where they run candidates, issue tax receipts and spend on election campaigns. [4] As of 4 November 2015, 22 political parties are registered in British Columbia. [5]

In advance of elections, a district electoral officer (DEO) and a deputy district electoral officer (DDEO) represent Elections BC in each electoral district and establish a temporary office to conduct the election, often shortly before the writ of election is dropped by the government.

Elections BC is subject to the following legislation: Election Act (1996), [6] Financial Disclosure Act (1996), [7] Local Government Act (1996), [8] the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act (2014)., [9] and the Recall and Initiative Act (1996). [10]

Scheduled election dates

British Columbia was the first province to legislate fixed dates for elections. The next provincial election was set for October 16, 2021. On September 21, 2020, John Horgan called a snap election for October 24, 2020. [11]

Referendums

In 2015, Elections BC spent $5,372,380 to administer the 2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite, a cost of about $3.44 per voter. [12] A total of 1,572,861 voting packages were issued and 798,262 (51 per cent) returned to Elections BC. About 62 per cent of Metro Vancouver voters rejected a proposal for a half-per-cent sales tax increase to fund a 10-year, $7.5-billion upgrade to transportation by TransLink. About 290,000 voted yes, while 467,000 voted no. About 38,393 ballot packages received by deadline were rejected because they did not meet the requirements of the plebiscite. [13]

Candidacy fees and requirements

A candidate is required under the Election Act to gather the signatures of 75 valid voters in their electoral district. A nomination deposit of $250 per candidate is required. Candidates who receive 15 per cent of the total vote receive a full refund. All others forfeit the deposit. [14]

Chief electoral officers

Chief electoral officers forfeit their right to vote in elections they oversee. They may not be a member of a political party or contribute to candidate campaigns. [15]

The position of chief electoral officer was created in 1947. Prior to that time, the responsibility for overseeing elections had been assigned to the registrar of the Supreme Court from 1871 to 1899, then to the deputy provincial secretary from 1899 to 1940. In 1940, the position of registrar general of voters was created to take over some of the deputy provincial secretary's duties. In 1950, the chief electoral officer was also appointed registrar general of voters. The positions were subsequently held jointly until the position of registrar general of voters was abolished in 1995. In 1995, the chief electoral officer became an independent officer of the Legislature. [16]

Current and previous officers

List of chief electoral officers of British Columbia [17]
NameIn office
Frederick Harold HurleyApril 1, 1947June 1, 1968
Kenneth Loudon MortonJune 1, 1968October 1, 1979
Harry Morris GoldbergApril 15, 1980May 2, 1990
Robert A. PattersonMay 2, 1990June 6, 2002
Harry NeufeldNovember 7, 2002June 5, 2010
Keith ArcherSeptember 21, 2011May 1, 2018
Anton BoegmanJune 1, 2018Present

Election expenses

Election
Year		Total
election expenses		Electoral division
cost		CEO office
cost		Voter registration
cost		Electors
on list		Average cost / electorTurnoutPercentageSources
1996 $15,574,526$8,891,749$5,186,654$1,496,1232,227,424$6.991,592,65571.5% [18]
2001 $18,129,588$11,607,098$5,186,654$1,615,8492,254,920$81,599,76570.95% [19] [20] [21]
2005 $22,909,644$13,624,872$9,284,772$3,244,9182,845,284$81,774,26958.19% [22] [23] [24]
2009 $35,260,610$21,170,173$14,090,437$2,912,6873,238,737$121,651,56751% [25] [26]
2013 $34,808,125$22,874,036$11,934,089$5,982,9813,116,626$10.961,813,91257.1% [27]
2017 $39,450,034$22,407,049$17,042,985$6,272,5003,246,647$12.151,986,37161.2% [28]
2020 $51,603,932$29,400,057$22,203,875—3,524,812$14.641,898,55353.9% [29]

Note: Enumeration or voter registration expenses were included in total election expenses up to the 2001 election. As of 2005, Elections BC excluded enumeration expenses from its calculation of total election expenses.

Candidates per election

Election yearTotal candidatesElectoral districtsPolitical partiesRegistered constituency associationsSources
1991 31775—— [30]
1996 5137518142 [30]
2001 4567928205 [31]
2005 4127945163 [32] [33]
2009 3458532128 [34] [35]
2013 3768526159 [27] [36]
2017 3718728— [28]
2020 3328728— [29]

Related Research Articles

Canada holds elections for legislatures or governments in several jurisdictions: for the federal (national) government, provincial and territorial governments, and municipal governments. Elections are also held for self-governing First Nations and for many other public and private organizations including corporations and trade unions. Municipal elections can also be held for both upper-tier and lower-tier governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicine Hat (provincial electoral district)</span> Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Medicine Hat was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1971, and again from 1979 to 2019. The electoral district was named after the City of Medicine Hat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 British Columbia electoral reform referendum</span> Referendum on electoral reform in 2005

A referendum was held in the Canadian province of British Columbia on May 17, 2005, to determine whether or not to adopt the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform to replace the existing first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP) with a single transferable vote system (BC-STV). It was held in conjunction with the BC Legislative Assembly election of 2005. Voters were given two ballots at that time: a ballot to vote for a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) in their constituency and a referendum ballot. The referendum received considerable support from the electorate but failed in meeting the 60-percent threshold that had been set. A second referendum was held in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Alberta general election</span>

The 1997 Alberta general election was held on March 11, 1997, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stony Plain (electoral district)</span> Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Stony Plain, originally named Stonyplain, was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 2019. The district returned a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta throughout its history, using the first past the post method of voting for most of its existence but single transferable vote from 1926 to 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain House (electoral district)</span> Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Rocky Mountain House was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff-Cochrane</span> Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Banff-Cochrane was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1975, and again from 1979 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver-Point Grey</span> Provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver-Point Grey is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was first contested in the general election of 1933. It was created out of parts of Richmond-Point Grey, South Vancouver and Vancouver City. The riding began as a three-member seat, and was reduced to a two-member seat in 1966 when Vancouver-Little Mountain was created. In the redistribution preceding the 1991 election, it was reduced to a one-member riding along with the other older urban ridings, as several new one-member ridings were created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanaimo (provincial electoral district)</span> Provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

Nanaimo is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.

Cardston was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections Manitoba</span> Non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba

Elections Manitoba is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in Manitoba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections Ontario</span> Canadian provincial elections organization

Elections Ontario is an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario responsible for the administration of provincial elections and referendums. It is charged with the implementation and enforcement of the Election Act, Election Finances Act, Representation Acts (various), as well as specific portions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, Taxpayer Protection Act, 1999, and Fluoridation Act. The agency collects information about political parties, candidates, constituency association, leadership contestants, and third parties involved in Ontario politics. Elections Ontario is led by the Chief Electoral Officer, a non-partisan Officer of the Legislative Assembly chosen by an all-party committee. Greg Essensa, appointed in 2008, is the current Chief Electoral Officer. His predecessor was John Hollins, who held the position from 2001 to 2008.

Wetaskiwin was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1971.

Elections Nunavut is an independent agency that oversees elections and plebiscites in Nunavut, including:

An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election recounts will often result in changes in contest tallies. Errors can be found or introduced from human factors, such as transcription errors, or machine errors, such as misreads of paper ballots.

Ponoka was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1986.

The National Register of Electors is a continuously updated permanent database of eligible electors for federal elections in Canada maintained by Elections Canada. It was established in December 1996 when Bill C-63 was granted royal assent and the preliminary National Register of Electors was populated with data in April 1997 during the final Canada-wide enumeration. It replaced a system which required door-to-door enumeration of eligible electors for each electoral event. The database contains basic information about electors: name, address, sex, and date of birth. An elector may register or update their personal information between elections, or may request to be excluded from it per the Canada Elections Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond-Queensborough</span> Provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

Richmond-Queensborough is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada that was created in the 2015 redistribution from parts of Richmond East and New Westminster. It was first contested in the 2017 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond South Centre</span> Provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

Richmond South Centre is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada that was created in the 2015 redistribution from parts of Richmond Centre, Richmond East and Richmond-Steveston. It was first contested in the 2017 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrey South</span> Provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

Surrey South is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada that was created in the 2015 redistribution from parts of Surrey-Cloverdale and Surrey-Panorama. It was first contested in the 2017 election.

References

  1. 1 2 Elections BC 2007-2008 Annual Report
  2. 1 2 http://www.elections.bc.ca/index.php/about/what-we-do/ Elections BC What We Do web page. Accessed October 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/index.php/about/ About Elections BC web page. Accessed October 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/LOC/complete/statreg/--%20E%20--/Election%20Act%20%5BRSBC%201996%5D%20c.%20106/00_Act/96106_09.xml#part9 Election Act, Part 9 — Registration of Political Parties and Constituency Associations
  5. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/fin/Registered-Political-Parties-Information.pdf Registered Political Parties
  6. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96106_00 Election Act legislation
  7. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96139_01 Financial Disclosure Act legislation
  8. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/LOC/complete/statreg/--%20L%20--/Local%20Government%20Act%20%5BRSBC%201996%5D%20c.%20323/00_Act/96323_04.xml#section42 Local Government Act, Part 3
  9. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/14018 Local Elections Campaign Financing Act legislation
  10. ↑ "Table of Contents - Recall and Initiative Act".
  11. ↑ "British Columbians heading to the polls on October 24 in fall election". Global News. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  12. ↑ Hui, Stephen (September 22, 2015). "Elections B.C. says transit referendum cost $5.4 million". The Georgia Straight . Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  13. ↑ Morton, Brian (September 22, 2015). "Elections BC to review rejection of more than 38,000 Transit Plebiscite ballots". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  14. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/LOC/complete/statreg/--%20E%20--/Election%20Act%20%5BRSBC%201996%5D%20c.%20106/00_Act/96106_05.xml#part5 Election Act, Part 5 - Candidates
  15. ↑ http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/LOC/complete/statreg/--%20E%20--/Election%20Act%20%5BRSBC%201996%5D%20c.%20106/00_Act/96106_02.xml#section5 Election Act - Election and Other Officials
  16. ↑ "The Chief Electoral Officer". April 30, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  17. ↑ "The Chief Electoral Officer". Elections BC. April 30, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  18. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/1996-SOVGeneralElection.pdf General Election Report 1996
  19. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2001GEResults/2001-SOVGeneralElection.pdf General Election Results 2001
  20. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2001_arep.pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2001
  21. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/ceofin2001.pdf Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 37th Provincial General Election
  22. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2005GEResults/SOV-GEcomplete.pdf Elections BC, Statement of Votes, 38th Provincial General Election, May 17, 2005
  23. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2005-CEOreportRefOnElectoralReform.pdf Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, 38th Provincial General Election, 2005 Referendum on Electoral Reform, May 17, 2005
  24. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2005-TargetedEnumeration.pdf Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Targeted Enumeration and Voter Registration
  25. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2009GE/2009-GE-SOV.pdf Elections BC, Statement of Votes 39th Provincial General Election, May 12, 2009
  26. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2009EnumerationReport.pdf Elections BC, Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2009 Enumeration
  27. 1 2 http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2013-General-Election-Report.pdf Elections BC, Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 40th Provincial General Election, May 14, 2013
  28. 1 2 "2017 Provincial General Election - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  29. 1 2 "Report of the Chief Electoral Officer — 42nd Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. July 27, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  30. 1 2 http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/96_arep.pdf Elections BC 1995/1996 Annual Report
  31. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2001GEResults/2001-SOVGeneralElection.pdf Elections BC, Statement of Votes, 37th Provincial General Election, May 16, 2001
  32. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/0405AnnualReport.pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2004/2005
  33. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/news/n_050504.pdf BC Chief Electoral Office News Release, 2005 Provincial General Election Nomination of Candidates, May 4, 2005
  34. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/index.php/news/2009-candidates Archived May 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Elections BC news release, Your Candidates for the 2009 Provincial General Election
  35. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/0809-Annual-Report.pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2008/2009
  36. ↑ http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/AR1213SP1316.pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2012/2013
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.