Election Act voting requirements for mail in ballots, and third party advertising rules

Because the British Columbia provincial election was called suddenly none of the political parties have candidates nominated in all ridings. As a result of COVID-19, many people have also requested mail-in ballots.Without candidates having been determined yet, the mail-in ballots being distributed simply have a blank space to write in the name of the candidate you wish to vote for. When asked about the voting procedure, the premier incorrectly suggested that people could write in various things, including the name the party leader they wished to vote for. Unfortunately, unless the party leader happens to be a candidate in your riding, writing in the name of the party leader will result in a spoiled ballot. Section 123 of the Election Act does permit, on a write-in ballot, someone to indicate either the name of the candidate or the political party, they wish to vote for. The name of the party leader is not, however, a permitted alternative. The Election Act does expressly provides for write-in ballots to be counted even where the name of a candidate or political party is misspelled or abbreviated, as long as the intention of the voter is clear. On regular ballots, which include the names of the candidates, a selection should be made using a cross or tick mark opposite the name of the candidate you wish to vote for. Other marks should not be made on a ballot because, if they could reasonably be used to identify a voter, the ballot would be rejected. Also discussed on the show are provisions of the Elections Act that regulate third-party advertising.Limits on how much a candidate can spend would not be meaningful if other people could spend money on an election without limit.Unfortunately, the rules respecting third-party advertising are so restrictive as to have forced a pub owner from Kelowna to register so as to avoid fines for having a message printed at the bottom of receipts. The message reads “Oct. 24 vote that f*cker out!”While the message wouldn’t cost the pub owner anything to print, the Election Act would require a fair market value to be assigned and would then result in a fine of twice this amount should the pub owner not register and comply with a host of regulator requirements.For a transcript of the show, and links to the legislation discussed, follow this link.Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan is live on CFAX 1070 every Thursday at 10:30 am.