SPECIAL BALLOTS

ISSUING AND PROCESSING INSTRUCTIONS

 

 

“Special Ballots” are an exceptional means of voting, for people ordinarily resident in an electoral region who will be out of the area on voting day and throughout the advance poll period, or who are otherwise unable to, or just don’t want to, go to the ordinary polls.  Their particular nature requires a number of steps and a number of forms not required with ordinary voting and ballots.  Special ballots are not used for voters where a mobile poll will be held, unless a resident will not be there on polling day.

 

For the quadrennial elections, because of the number of ballots that may be issued, (at least) two members of the returning office staff at each main returning office will be appointed as Special Ballot Officers. In satellite returning offices the Election Clerk will issue special ballots, and in the main offices the Returning Officer and Election Clerk can issue special ballots in the absence of the Special Ballot Officers. Where Special Ballot Officers are appointed, either one individually may process an application and issue ballots to a voter, but where a voter has requested that the special ballot officers bring the ballots to the voter’s home, or to a voter in hospital (see below), the two officers must go together to deliver and return the voter’s ballot.

 

Forms Required:  A number of forms are used in the Special Ballot process. Processing most special ballot applications will require only:

1.        the Application for a Special Ballot;

2.        Special Ballots: for voters voting in their home region these will generally be the ordinary ballots received from the ballot printers, but for voters from other regions (or their own region before the commercially printed ballots are available) the special ballot officers will print the ballots from the returning office “Ballot on Demand” computer files;

3.        two Special Ballot Poll Books, one used for “In-Office” voting (for voters who come to the returning office) and one to be used for “Out-of-Office” voting (in voters homes, hospitals, correctional facilities, mailed-in ballots) to track who has voted by this means.

Voters outside the province, to whom a ballot must be sent by courier, and in some cases voters in correctional facilities, will also need:

4.        a Special Ballot Envelope;

5.        a Certificate Envelope; and

6.        an Instruction Sheet for Special Ballots.

 

Who Uses Special Ballots: Special Ballots can be issued to voters in a number of different circumstances, and the procedures vary slightly in each case. The possible circumstances are:

 

1. An elector voting in person, in their own region, in the returning office – usually people who will be traveling, working, or studying out of the area for the advance and ordinary polling days, or voters who wish to use the audio-vote option (for voters unable to see or read well), but any voter is free to vote at a returning office: they do not need to give a reason for voting by special ballot;
2. An elector voting in person, in the region, but out of the office: – house-bound electors, or those in hospital or another institution (who may be from the local region or any other part of the province);
3. An elector ordinarily resident in another electoral region, voting in person at the local returning office: again, these voters are generally people working or studying   temporarily in a different region, but they do not need to state a reason for voting by this means;
4. Electors ordinarily resident in a region who are temporarily out of province and voting “by mail” (really by courier).

 

How Special Ballot Voting is Conducted:  Recent changes to the Municipal Elections Act provide for special ballot officers to take the special ballot poll to voters in their homes or in hospitals or other institutional settings; there will be no more need for volunteer “agents” to take ballots to voters and return them to the office.

 

For the May 2008 elections, special ballot voting will be available at returning offices a week after nominations are closed and final (beginning April 21), as the office computers and vote tabulation machines must be programmed to print and accept all of the ballots used across the province. The special ballot officers will handle most in-office voting as well as out-of-office voting, but the Election Clerk or Returning Officer will also be able to take the vote of voters who come to the office while the special ballot officers are out.

 

Printing Special Ballots: For local voters, once a returning office has received the ordinary ballots from the ballot printer, they can be used for special ballot voting. One package of ballots of each style in the region should be taken for initial special ballot use, and the ballots issued to the special ballot officers recorded in a Poll Supervisor’s Ballot Issuing Record. For voters who must vote before the commercially printed ballots are available, and for voters from other regions of the province, special ballots are printed from the “Ballot On Demand” computer program, on the designated colour printer.

The special ballot officers’ computer and vote tabulation machine will be programmed to print and read all ballot styles for all municipalities and rural communities and district education council elections in the province, so any returning office or satellite office in any region can print a ballot for a voter from anywhere in the province who is visiting, working, studying, or in hospital in that region. 

Vote Tabulation Machine:  For the quadrennial elections, each main and satellite returning office will have a vote tabulation machine dedicated to special ballot voting, and programmed in all cases to read all ballots in the province. Before issuing any special ballots, the special ballot officers, in the presence of the returning officer and election clerk, must set up the tabulation machine, and open it for voting, in accordance with the instructions for using the machines.

 

Cardboard Ballot Box:  As the vote tabulation machines cannot be taken out of the returning office,  the special ballot officers will also use an ordinary cardboard ballot box to take the vote of voters in their homes or in hospital or other institutions. At the same time that the tabulation machine is set up to receive special ballots, the special ballot officers will close and seal an ordinary box for use outside the office, and note the seal numbers in the front of the “Out-of-Office” Special Ballot Poll Book.

 

Audio-Vote Option: Each returning office and satellite office also has an audio-vote machine, programmed with audio versions of all ballots in the province, and with a small control box that can be used by blind voters or anyone unable to see or read easily to vote independently. 

 

Detailed Voting Procedures

 

A.            An Elector Voting In Person – in the office, and from any region:

 

For such voters, the Special Ballot Officers or Election Clerk or Returning Officer must:

1.        Use an Application for a Special Ballot to collect the voter’s name and address, but the elector does not need to sign the Application, as they must sign the Declaration in the Special Ballot Poll Book at the time of voting.

2.        Ask for one piece of ID, to be satisfied that the person is who they say they are, especially if they are from out of district and are not personally known to anyone in the office.

3.        Check to see if the person is on the voters’ list at their current address. In most cases the person will bring their Notice to Vote card, which can be used to find them on the computerized Voter Information System list of electors, using a bar-code reader. If the person does not have their Notice to Vote card, the Voter Information System can be searched by manually entering their name and address information.

4.        If the person is on the list at the given address,

                                             i.      note the person’s name, “voter ID #”, electoral region number, and polling division number from the Voter Information System in the appropriate columns in the “In-Office” special ballot poll book.

                                            ii.      fill in all other required information in the special ballot poll book; and

                                          iii.      have the person read and sign the Declaration for Voting by Special Ballot in the poll book; explain that this is their confirmation that they will only vote once during the elections.

5.        If the person is not on the list at their current address,

                                             i.      ask if they have moved within the province in the last few years; if so, check the list of electors at their previous address. If they are on the list elsewhere in the province, have them complete a Correction or Deletion of Elector Information form to up-date their address information;

                                            ii.      if they are not on the list anywhere in the province, have the person complete an Application for Addition to the List of Electors, show you their ID for their current address, and take the oath (on the form) that they are qualified to vote; and

                                          iii.      follow steps (i) to (iii) in section 4, above.

6.        Determine what ballot options the person has, using their region number and polling division number, using either the Ballot Styles per Polling Division reference table (for voters in their own region), or the Ballot On Demand computer program for voters from other regions.

7.        Ask if the voter prefers a ballot for the English or French school district in their area, and if there is an acclamation or no candidate in the district they have chosen, ask if they would like the other district ballot for the area.

8.        Find the chosen ballot style, using either the ordinary ballots for the local region or the Ballot On Demand system for other regions (or local ones, if ballots have not yet been delivered from the printer), as required. Fill in the region number and polling division number on the top front, and initial the ballot in the box provided on the top front.

9.        Explain how the ballot is to be marked, give it to the voter in a secrecy sleeve, direct the voter to the voting shield to mark the ballot, ask them to put it back in the secrecy sleeve and bring it back to the special ballot officer to deposit it in the vote tabulation machine.

10.     When the person returns with the ballot, place the ballot, face-down and in the secrecy sleeve, on the in-take tray of the tabulation machine, so that it is drawn into the machine, and once the ballot is through the machine and in the ballot box, mark the person in the Special Ballot Poll Book as having voted.

11.     Give any Correction or Deletion of Elector Information or Application for Addition forms to a data entry worker to add voters to the list or correct voter information.

12.     At the end of each day, give the “In-Office” special ballot poll book to a data entry worker, to go into the Voter Information System and mark off those voters who voted that day as having “voted” by special ballot.

 

B-1         An elector voting in person, but out of the office: – house-bound electors, or those in hospital or other institutions, and from any region:

 

A ballot and cardboard ballot box can be taken to the home or hospital room of a voter who is unable to go to the polls because of their own illness or incapacity, or the illness or incapacity of a person for whose care the voter is responsible. A voter may call for himself or herself and say they need to vote by special ballot, or a person may call on behalf of someone else in their household or another household who needs a special ballot to vote. In such cases the special ballot officers must:

1.        Collect the full name, address and date of birth information of the voter, and whether they prefer an English or French district education council ballot, on an Application for a Special Ballot, as this information is needed to find the person on the list of electors and determine which ballot to take to them. In taking the information, the officer should also ask if the person has moved within the last two years, and if so, ask for their previous address, as they may be on the list there.

2.        Arrange a time to take the ballot to the voter, and tell the voter that a friend or member of their family may also be present when the special ballot officers go to take their vote.

3.        Before going to a voter’s home (or on a hospital visit), check the list of electors on the Voter Information System to see if the voter is on it, and at their current address:

                                             i.      If they are on the list at their current address, go on to step 4;

                                            ii.      If not, check the list at their previous address, or by voter’s name for the whole province:

                                                                          a.      if the person is on the list elsewhere in province, they can be “moved” to their current address using the information taken by phone – complete a Correction or Deletion of Elector Information form;

                                                                         b.      if the person is not on the list anywhere in the province, the special ballot officers must take an Application for Addition to the List of Electors, to add the person before they are given a ballot.

4.        Note the person’s name, “voter ID #”, electoral region number, and polling division number from the Voter Information System in the appropriate columns in the “Out-of-Office” special ballot poll book.

5.        Determine what ballot options the person has, using their region number and polling division number, using either the Ballot Styles per Polling Division reference table for voters from your region, or the Ballot On Demand computer program for voters from other regions.

6.        Find the chosen ballot style, using either the ordinary ballots for the local region or the Ballot On Demand system for other regions (or the local one, if ballots have not yet been delivered from the printer), as required;  fill in the region number and polling division number on the top front, and initial the ballot in the box provided on the top front.

7.        On visiting the voter, if the person is already on the list,

                                             i.      fill in all other required information in the Special Ballot Poll Book;

                                            ii.      have the person sign under the Declaration for Voting by Special Ballot in the poll book, explaining that this is their confirmation that they will only vote once during the elections;

                                          iii.      explain how the ballot is to be marked, give it to the voter in a secrecy sleeve with a ballot marking pen, direct them to mark the vote privately (SBOs should take a voting shield when going to voter’s homes), and to put it back in the sleeve before depositing the ballot in the ballot box;

                                          iv.      if the voter is able, have them hold the ballot and secrecy sleeve upside down in the ballot slot, so that the top of the ballot is in the slot and the secrecy sleeve is resting on the top of the box, then release their hold on the sleeve so the ballot will drop into the box (assisting as needed or requested);

                                           v.      if the voter asks for assistance to mark the ballot, one Special Ballot Officer marks the ballot in accordance with the voter’s instructions while the other observes; another person may be present if the voter wishes, but only a special ballot officer may assist by marking the ballot for a voter unless a voter can clearly convey that he or she wants someone else to assist;

                                          vi.      mark the person in the special ballot poll book as having voted.

8.        On visiting a voter who is not on the list,

                                             i.      have the person complete an Application for Addition to the List of Electors, check their ID, and take their oath;

                                            ii.      voters with no paper ID can be “vouched for” by another voter from the same community using the Oath of Elector Vouching (there is a combined Addition to the List and Application for Special Ballot form, for voters in institutional facilities);

                                          iii.      follow steps (i) to (vi), under section 7, above;

                                          iv.      on return to the office, give the Application for Addition to a data entry worker to add the voter to the list.

9.        At the end of each day, give the “Out-of-Office” special ballot poll book to a data entry worker, to go into the Voter Information System and mark voters who voted that day as having “voted” by special ballot.

 

Special Ballots deposited by voters in the cardboard ballot box throughout the election period must be kept sealed in that box until the close of the ordinary polls on polling day. See below for poll closing and reporting procedures.

 

B-2   “Special  Advance” Polls for Seniors’ Apartments or Small Special Care Homes:

 

Mobile Polls:- In nursing homes, extended care units of hospitals, and special care homes where residents are not physically able to go to the ordinary or advance polls, voters will be served by a mobile poll, with separate mobile poll officers, on polling day. Special ballots are not normally needed by residents of these locations, unless a resident will be away from the residence on polling day.

 

In all-seniors apartment buildings, assisted living centres, or special care homes where residents are generally physically able to go to the ordinary polls, mobile polls are not held, and the residents are included on the voters list for the ordinary polls in that area. Special ballots are available to residents of these facilities who cannot go to the ordinary or advance polls, as for any other voter who needs a ballot brought to their home.

 

Early in the election period, the Returning Officer or special ballot officers will consult the managers of such seniors’ residences to determine (approximately) the number of voters in a residence who are likely to need special ballots. Where numbers warrant, a time can be set for holding a “special advance” voting opportunity at such a residence. For such an event, the special ballot officers will post notices in the building well in advance of the designated time, which should generally be in the last week of the election period (after the region-wide advance polls). At the specified time, the special ballot officers will go to the residence, with the list of voters in that facility, the two ballot options for that area, a ballot box and voting screen, and take the vote of any residents who wish to vote at that time, as they would in going to an individual voter’s home. 

 

C.            Electors ordinarily resident in one region, voting in person in another region:

 

There are a number of situations where voters who ordinarily live in one part of the province may be temporarily in another region during an election: people may be temporarily working in that area, or studying at university or community college, or be in hospital or a correctional facility.

 

The Voting Process for “Other Region Voters”: The voting process for “other region” voters is the same as for local voters.  If the person is in the office, the special ballot officers follow the steps as in Section A, above, or if the person is voting out of the office (at a hospital, correctional facility, or other institution), they follow the steps as in Section B, above, making sure in either case that:

a)       in the special ballot poll book, the voter’s correct region and polling division number is recorded;  

b)       the voter’s home region and polling division number is filled in on the top front of the ballot; and

c)       on the Voter Information System, when the person is marked as having voted by special ballot, it is indicated that the person voted in one region by special ballot for another region (so that if necessary, the other district office can contact the office where the person voted). When the person is checked off as having “voted” at the  office where they physically voted, their name will automatically be marked off on the list in the person’s home region.

 

Adding Voters to the List for Other Regions:  If necessary, a voter can be added to the list for their home region from another region’s returning office, before a ballot is issued to them, in the same way that a local person would be added to the list for the region. When the data entry workers add a person at one returning office, they will automatically appear as an “addition” on the list in all returning offices, including the one for their home region.

 

D.            Electors ordinarily resident in a region, voting by mail (courier):

 

This situation will be relatively rare now that people can vote for any community in any region from any returning office in the province, but there still may be some voters ordinarily resident in a region who are temporarily out of the province during an election and must get their ballot by courier. When such a person contacts a returning office about obtaining a ballot, the special ballot officers must check first to find out if he or she is on the list (in that region or elsewhere in the province).

1. The person must send in (by fax or mail, or by e-mail if they can scan the form with a signature) a signed Application for a Special Ballot, showing their ordinary civic address in New Brunswick.
2. If they are on the list at that address, the special ballot officers will:

                                       i.            fill in the required information in the “Out-of-Office” special ballot poll book;

                                      ii.            prepare a ballot – filling in the region and polling division numbers on the front, and initialing the box on the front;

                                    iii.            put the ballot in a ballot envelope;

                                    iv.            put the ballot envelope and a Special Ballot Instructions for Voters sheet (ensuring that it includes the cut-off time and date for the return of the ballot – 8:00 p.m. on election day) into a certificate envelope;

                                     v.            fill in the certificate part of the envelope, other than the signature line for the voter on the bottom, and sign the top of the certificate where indicated for special ballot officers;

                                    vi.            fill in the returning office address and phone number on the front of the certificate envelope;

                                  vii.            send the certificate envelope and enclosures to the voter at the address given on the Application; if the person sent their Application by fax, ask them to send the original back with their returned ballot. (Generally, courier is the fastest and surest way to deliver ballots out of province, but in some areas bus service may sometimes be more efficient; if time is short, check the options.)

3. If the person is not on the voters’ list, they must be added before a ballot can be issued: the special ballot officers must contact the person by phone, fax or e-mail to let them know that they must complete an Application for Addition to the List of Electors, and send you photocopies of their ID showing their name, ordinary NB address, and signature. The person can print the form off the Elections NB internet site, or it can be faxed to them and returned by fax. (If the person is on the list elsewhere in the province, at a previous address, their address information can be corrected in the same way as other voters; this information can be taken by phone.) Once the person is on the list for the district, follow steps (i) to (vii) above.
4. On receipt of a returned certificate envelope the special ballot officers, acting together, shall ensure that

a)       the signature on the certificate envelope appears to be the signature of the elector who applied for the special ballot;

b)       If satisfied of this,

                                       i.            remove the ballot envelope from the certificate envelope, and destroy the certificate envelope,

                                      ii.            deposit the unopened ballot envelope into the cardboard “Out-of-Office” ballot box, and

                                    iii.            record in the “Out-of-Office” special ballot poll book the date and time that the certificate envelope was received and that the elector named on the certificate has voted.

c)       If the special ballot officers are not satisfied that the signature on a certificate envelope appears to be that of the applicant for a ballot, mark “spoiled ballot” on the certificate envelope and put the unopened certificate envelope in a “Spoiled Ballots” envelope.

d)       If a special ballot officer or a returning officer receives a certificate envelope after 8:00 p.m. on polling day, the certificate envelope should be marked as a “spoiled ballot”, and the special ballot officers or the returning officer should record in the special ballot poll book the time, date and place that the certificate envelope was received.

5. Military Personnel Posted Out of Province: These voters must vote using the mail-in process, but for large-group postings, all mailing will be done through a central co-ordinating official at CFB Gagetown, with all the ballots issued by the returning officer in whose region the Base offices fall (to provide a single contact point on both sides of the process). Military personnel also use the combined Application for Addition to the List and Application for a Special Ballot, to avoid losing time in adding them to the list before issuing a ballot.

 

Counting and Reporting Special Ballot Results:  Following the close of the ordinary polls, at 8:00 p.m. on election day, special ballot officers, in the presence of either the Returning Officer or Election Clerk, must open the “Out-of-Office” ballot box, and put the ballots deposited by house-bound or hospitalized voters and mailed-in ballots in ballot envelopes through the vote tabulation machine.

 

When all such ballots have been deposited in the machine, the special ballot officers do not run a results tape, as for machines used at polling centres. In the presence of the returning officer or election clerk, they remove the ballot program card from the machine, and deliver it to the person responsible for down-loading voting results to the Election Management Program on the office computers. The results of the special ballot voting will be printed from the computer reports, and any votes for contests in other regions will be automatically consolidated and reported to those regions through the Elections New Brunswick central computer system.

 

All counted ballots must be removed from the tabulation machine ballot box and placed in a ballot transfer box clearly labeled “Special Ballot Poll” and with the Region Number. It is not necessary to sort the ballots in any way before putting them in a transfer box. The box must be sealed with the provided seals, and the seals initialed by the special ballot officers and the returning officer or election clerk.